JP7107209B2 - Glass fiber manufacturing method, bushing replacement method, and glass fiber manufacturing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a glass fiber manufacturing method, a method for replacing a bushing provided in a manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the manufacturing method, and a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus as the manufacturing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus which is provided with a bushing having a plurality of nozzles and which simultaneously manufactures a plurality of glass fibers by drawing out molten glass from the nozzles.
The glass fiber manufacturing apparatus mainly includes a melting furnace that heats and melts frit to produce molten glass, and a feeder that is connected downstream of the melting furnace and through which the molten glass produced in the melting furnace flows. etc., and a plurality of flow holes are provided at predetermined intervals along the flow direction of the molten glass at the bottom of the feeder, and bushings are attached to the lower portions of these flow holes.
Then, a plurality of glass fibers are produced at the same time by withdrawing the molten glass supplied to each bushing through the feeder through the nozzle of the bushing (see, for example, "Patent Document 1").
A plurality of manufactured glass fibers are spun into one strand for each bushing and wound around a bobbin as a fiber bundle.

WO2014/185132

By the way, one of the conditions (hereinafter referred to as "production conditions") that determines the thickness, number, etc. of the plurality of glass fibers produced by each bushing is the flow rate of molten glass flowing through the feeder.
If there is a change in the conditions (temperature, viscosity) on the upstream side of the feeder, the production conditions will change, and the thickness of the manufactured glass fibers will change.

In addition, when replacing a bushing, it is necessary to spray water on the bushing to be replaced and its surroundings, cool and solidify the molten glass flowing into the bushing, and stop the flow. As a result, it has become a factor that causes the deterioration of the equipment.
Furthermore, after the bushing is replaced, the glass solidified by the cooling described above is heated again. As a result, there is a risk of lowering the productivity of the glass fiber.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a glass fiber manufacturing method, a bushing replacement method, and a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus capable of suppressing deterioration of equipment and deterioration of glass fiber quality.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above, and the means for solving the problems will now be described.

That is, the method for producing glass fiber according to the present invention includes a glass melting furnace for producing molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a plurality of nozzles arranged at the bottom of the feeder. and a bushing, wherein the glass fiber is produced by drawing molten glass from the nozzle, wherein the feeder comprises a mainstream feeder located downstream of the glass melting furnace and a branch from the mainstream feeder. a plurality of branch feeders extending in parallel and communicating with the mainstream feeder, wherein the bushing is disposed at the bottom of each branch feeder to provide communication between the mainstream feeder and each branch feeder; is provided with a damper for opening and closing the opening provided in the communicating portion, and the opening area of the opening is adjusted by the damper.

By having such a configuration, even if there is a change in the conditions (temperature, viscosity) on the upstream side of the feeder, the damper opens and closes the opening to adjust the pressure loss, thereby stably feeding the glass fiber. can be manufactured.

Further, in the method for producing a glass fiber according to the present invention, by adjusting the opening area of the opening with the damper, the liquid level of the molten glass flowing through the branch feeder is adjusted to be constant. is preferred.

That is, the height of the damper is adjusted so that the opening area of the opening in the communicating portion between the main feeder and the branch feeder is substantially the same as the cross-sectional area of the molten glass flowing through the branch feeder as viewed in the direction of flow. By adjusting, the lower end of the damper is brought into substantially contact with the liquid level of the molten glass, and the height of the liquid level of the molten glass is adjusted to be substantially constant.
Therefore, it is possible to suppress changes in the thickness, density, etc. of the manufactured glass fiber due to, for example, unexpected ripples in the liquid surface of the molten glass and fluctuations in the pressure at the bottom of the molten glass. quality can be improved.

Further, in the method for producing glass fiber according to the present invention, heating means for heating the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder is provided, and the heating means adjusts the temperature of the molten glass to be constant. is preferred.

By having such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness in the viscosity of the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder due to a partial temperature decrease, and the quality of the manufactured glass fiber is improved. can be achieved.

Further, in the method for producing glass fibers according to the present invention, the opening of the communicating portion between any branch feeder of the plurality of branch feeders and the main flow feeder is closed by the damper. , the glass fiber may be produced.

With such a configuration, for example, when routine maintenance of the equipment is performed, such as replacing bushings, the overall equipment operation is reduced, as in conventional manufacturing equipment with bushings located at the bottom of a single feeder. Since it is possible to perform necessary maintenance while continuing the production of glass fibers without having to stop the production, it is possible to improve the production capacity.

A bushing replacement method according to the present invention comprises a glass melting furnace that produces molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a bushing that is arranged at the bottom of the feeder and has a plurality of nozzles. A method for replacing the bushing in a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus that manufactures glass fibers by drawing molten glass from the nozzle, wherein the feeder comprises a mainstream feeder communicating with the glass melting furnace, and a main stream feeder from the mainstream feeder. a plurality of branch feeders branching and extending downstream of the main feeder, wherein the bushing is disposed at the bottom of each branch feeder between the main feeder and each branch feeder; The communication portion of is provided with a damper for opening and closing an opening provided in the communication portion, the damper closes the opening of the communication portion between the main feeder and the branch feeder, and the The bushing is replaced after the molten glass in the branch feeder is discharged to the outside.

With such a configuration, immediately after restarting the operation of the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus, the quality of the glass fiber is not deteriorated due to devitrification, and the productivity is not lowered.
In addition, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to stop the flow of molten glass in the branch feeder by spraying water on the bushing, breakage or damage occurs due to local rapid cooling in the branch feeder. can be prevented as much as possible.

Further, in the bushing replacement method according to the present invention, the branch feeder includes heating means for heating the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder, and after the bushing replacement work is completed, the branch feeder is heated by the heating means. Heating the interior space is preferred.

With such a configuration, after the bushing replacement work is completed, the temperature of the molten glass that has started to flow again in the branch feeder can be immediately raised to a predetermined temperature and maintained. When resuming the operation of the branch feeder, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of quality defects in the manufactured glass fiber as much as possible, and to smoothly resume the operation of the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus.

A glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a glass melting furnace that produces molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a bushing that is arranged at the bottom of the feeder and has a plurality of nozzles. and a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing glass fibers by drawing out molten glass from the nozzle, wherein the feeder includes a mainstream feeder located downstream of the glass melting furnace and an extension branched from the mainstream feeder. , a plurality of branch feeders communicating with the main stream feeder, the bushing being arranged at the bottom of each of the branch feeders, and a communicating portion between the main stream feeder and each of the branch feeders comprising A damper is provided for opening and closing the opening provided in the communicating portion.

By having such a configuration, it is possible to adjust the pressure loss of the molten glass for each branch feeder and arbitrarily set production conditions (conditions for determining the thickness and number of glass fibers to be manufactured). As a result, multiple types of glass fibers can be produced simultaneously. Further, even if there is a change in the conditions (temperature, viscosity) on the upstream side of the feeder, it is possible to stably produce glass fibers by adjusting the pressure loss.

Further, in the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the number of bushings arranged at the bottom of each branch feeder is two or less, and at the extension end of the branch feeder, the bushings are arranged along the flow direction of the molten glass. preferably side-by-side.

By having such a configuration, the bushing located on the most upstream side (that is, the side communicating with the main feeder) in the flow direction of the molten glass and the bushing located on the most downstream side (that is, the extension end side of the branch feeder) It is possible to suppress the pressure difference of the molten glass from becoming too large between the bushing and the bushing, and to improve the quality of the glass fiber by suppressing variations in the quality of the manufactured glass fiber. can be done.

Moreover, in the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the branch feeder includes heating means for heating the molten glass flowing through the branch feeder.

By having such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness in the viscosity of the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder due to a partial temperature decrease, and the quality of the manufactured glass fiber is improved. can be achieved.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION This invention has an effect as shown below.
That is, according to the glass fiber manufacturing method and the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and according to the bushing replacement method according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the equipment and the deterioration of the quality of the glass fiber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a cross-sectional plan view which showed the whole structure of the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the branch feeder and its vicinity, and is a cross-sectional side view seen in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1; In the bushing replacement method, it is a diagram showing the state in the branch feeder over time, (a) is a cross-sectional side view showing the state immediately after the end of the closing process, and (b) is the end of the discharging process. It is a cross-sectional side view showing the state immediately after, and (c) is a cross-sectional side view showing the state immediately after the replacement process is completed.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.
2 and 3 is defined as the vertical direction of the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 for the sake of convenience. Further, the directions of arrows A1, A2, and A3 in FIGS. 1 to 3 are defined as flow directions of the molten glass G.

[Overall Configuration of Glass Fiber Manufacturing Apparatus 1]
First, the configuration of a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "manufacturing apparatus 1") embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.
The manufacturing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment draws out the molten glass G, which is melted by heating frit (not shown), through a plurality of nozzles 31 provided in the bushing 30, thereby producing a plurality of (See FIG. 2).
The manufacturing apparatus 1 mainly includes a glass melting furnace 10, a feeder 20, a bushing 30, a damper 40, and the like, as shown in FIG.

The glass melting furnace 10 heats and melts frit fed into the furnace to continuously produce molten glass G. As shown in FIG.
The glass melting furnace 10 is configured as a tank-shaped structure made of a refractory (for example, bricks), and is equipped with heating means (not shown), such as an electric heater and an LPG burner, inside of it. .

In the glass melting furnace 10, at the upstream end in the flow direction of the molten glass G (direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 1), frit mixed with silica sand, limestone, soda ash, cullet, etc. An input port (not shown) is provided for input.

Then, by heating and melting the frit fed from the inlet to a predetermined temperature by the heating means, the molten glass G is continuously generated by the glass melting furnace 10 and flows in the flow direction (arrow A1). direction).

Next, the feeder 20 will be explained.
The feeder 20 flows the molten glass G generated by the glass melting furnace 10 and supplies the molten glass G to the bushing 30 described later.
The feeder 20 is mainly composed of a mainstream feeder 21 communicating with the glass melting furnace 10 and a plurality of branch feeders 22 branching from the mainstream feeder 21, and the like.

The mainstream feeder 21 is, for example, in this embodiment, a single first mainstream feeder 21A made of a rectangular box-shaped refractory (for example, bricks) extending to one side, and a plurality of (for example, two in FIG. 1) ) is composed of the second mainstream feeders 21B and 21B.

The first mainstream feeder 21A is disposed on the downstream side of the glass melting furnace 10 in the flow direction (the direction of the arrow A1) so as to extend along the flow direction, and communicates with the glass melting furnace 10. .

On the other hand, the plurality of second mainstream feeders 21B and 21B are arranged to extend along the flow direction of the molten glass G (the direction of arrow A2 in FIG. 1) from side wall portions 21A1 and 21A1 on both sides of the first mainstream feeder 21A. , and communicated with the first mainstream feeder 21A.

Then, the molten glass G supplied from the glass melting furnace 10 to the mainstream feeder 21 flows toward the downstream side in the flow direction (direction of arrow A1) by the first mainstream feeder 21A. ), it branches into a plurality of second mainstream feeders 21B and flows toward the downstream side in a new flow direction (direction of arrow A2).

Note that the configuration of the mainstream feeder 21 is not limited to this embodiment.
For example, the mainstream feeder 21 is configured by only the first mainstream feeder 21A without having the second mainstream feeder 21B, and the plurality of branch feeders 22, 22 . It may be provided as described later.

A plurality of branch feeders 22 (for example, only eight are shown in FIG. 1) are made of rectangular box-shaped refractories (for example, bricks, etc.) extending in one direction, similarly to the main stream feeder 21 described above. Configured.
Further, these branch feeders 22, 22... are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction of flow of the molten glass G (direction of arrow A2) on each of the side wall portions 21B1, 21B1 of the plurality of second mainstream feeders 21B, 21B. arranged parallel to each other and extending along the flow direction of new molten glass G (the direction of arrow A3 in FIG. 1), and communicating with the plurality of second mainstream feeders 21B, 21B. be done.
That is, the branch feeder 22 branches from the mainstream feeder 21 (more specifically, the second mainstream feeder 21B) and extends in one direction (the direction of flow of the molten glass G (the direction of arrow A3)). 21.

In addition, the bottom surface of each branch feeder 22 is set so as to gently incline downward from the upstream side to the downstream side in the flow direction (direction of arrow A3).

Then, the molten glass G branched from the first mainstream feeder 21A and flowing in the second mainstream feeder 21B further branches to a plurality of branch feeders 22 in the middle of the flow direction (the direction of the arrow A2) to form new It flows toward the downstream side of the flow direction (the direction of arrow A3).

Each branch feeder 22 is provided with a heating means 23, for example, an LPG burner. By heating the molten glass G, the temperature of the molten glass G is adjusted so as to always be constant.
The configuration of the heating means 23 is not limited to that of the present embodiment, and may be configured by an electric heater or the like, for example.

By having such a configuration, in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness in the viscosity of the molten glass G flowing in the branch feeder 22 due to a partial temperature drop, and the production It is possible to improve the quality of the glass fiber F to be processed.

Next, the bushing 30 will be explained.
The bushing 30 forms the molten glass G supplied from the glass melting furnace 10 by the feeder 20 into a plurality of glass fibers FF.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bushing 30 is made of platinum, a platinum alloy, or the like and has a rectangular box shape with an open top. is provided.

The bushing 30 is arranged on the bottom portion 22a of the branch feeder 22 described above.
More specifically, in the bottom 22a of the branch feeder 22, a flow hole 22a1 is provided at the downstream end in the flow direction (the direction of the arrow A3). The bushing 30 is attached to the lower surface of the bottom portion 22a.

In the bushing 30 having such a configuration, the molten glass G flowing inside the branch feeder 22 flows downward in a filament form through a plurality of hollow nozzles 31, 31, . . . .
A plurality of glass fibers (glass filaments) F.F.
A plurality of formed glass fibers F · F . be done.

As shown in FIG. 1, the number of bushings 30 arranged in each branch feeder 22 is not limited to one and may be plural, but preferably two or less.
That is, for example, when a plurality of bushings 30, 30 . . . are arranged side by side along the direction of arrow A3).
Therefore, when three or more bushings 30, 30, ... are arranged on the bottom part 22a of one branch feeder 22, the most upstream side of the flow direction of the molten glass G (direction of arrow A3), that is, the second mainstream feeder 21B The pressure difference of the molten glass G increases between the bushing 30 located on the side of communication with and the bushing 30 located on the most downstream side in the flow direction, that is, on the extended end side of the branch feeder 22, and the production The quality of the glass fibers F to be processed tends to vary.

For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in the branch feeder 22A in FIG. That is, they are arranged side by side along the flow direction of the molten glass G at the downstream end in the flow direction (the direction of arrow A3).
Therefore, the quality of the manufactured glass fibers F is less likely to vary, and the quality of the glass fibers F can be improved.

Next, damper 40 will be described.
The damper 40 is arranged in the communicating portion 50 between the second mainstream feeder 21B and each branch feeder 22, and is formed in the opening provided in the communicating portion 50, that is, the side wall portion 21B1 of the second mainstream feeder 21B. It is for opening and closing the opening 21B2.
Here, the communicating portion 50 means a region including the vicinity of the upstream side and the downstream side of the opening 21B2 in the flow direction (the direction of the arrow A3) with the opening 21B2 as the center.
Therefore, the damper 40 may be arranged at any position as long as it can open and close the opening 21B2, and may be arranged on the side of the branch feeder 22 as in the present embodiment. Alternatively, it may be arranged on the side of the second mainstream feeder 21B. Also, the damper 40 may be arranged downstream in the direction of the arrow A3 from the arrangement position in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the damper 40 is made of a plate-like member made of a refractory (for example, a brick), and the damper 40 is arranged in a state in which the flat portion faces the flow direction of the molten glass G (the direction of the arrow A3). placed.
In addition, the damper 40 is provided with an elevating means 41 including, for example, a traction device using a wire, and is provided vertically movable (elevable) by the elevating means 41 .

Then, the damper 40 is lowered (moved downward) by the elevating means 41, and when the damper 40 reaches the lowest position, the opening 21B2 provided in the communicating portion 50 is completely opened by the damper 40. It becomes blocked.
In addition, the damper 40 is lifted (moved upward) by the elevating means 41, and when the damper 40 reaches the highest position, the opening 21B2 provided in the communicating portion 50 is completely opened by the damper 40. state.

Furthermore, the damper 40 can be stopped at any position between the lowest point and the highest point by the lifting means 41. Depending on the stopped position of the damper 40, the The opening area of the opening 21B2 is adjusted, and the pressure loss of the molten glass G flowing through the branch feeder 22 is adjusted.

The stop position of the damper 40 is set not only for the purpose of adjusting the pressure loss of the molten glass G flowing in the branch feeder 22 as described above, but also for example, the liquid level of the molten glass G It may be set for the purpose of suppressing variations in height.
That is, the opening area of the opening 21B2 provided in the communication portion 50 between the mainstream feeder 21 (more specifically, the second mainstream feeder 21B) and the branch feeder 22 is the same as the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder 22. The opening area of the opening 21B2 is adjusted by the damper 40 so that the cross-sectional area of the molten glass G flowing in the branch feeder 22 is substantially the same as the cross-sectional area of the G flowing in the direction of the arrow A3. It may be adjusted so that the surface height is constant.

By adjusting the height of the damper 40 in this way, the lower end of the damper 40 is brought into substantial contact with the liquid surface of the molten glass G, and the molten glass G is adjusted to the liquid level while the pressure loss is adjusted by the damper 40. The surface height is adjusted so as to be substantially constant.
Therefore, it is possible to suppress changes in the thickness, density, etc. of the manufactured glass fibers F due to, for example, unexpected fluctuations in the liquid surface of the molten glass G and variations in the pressure at the bottom of the molten glass G. The improvement of the quality of the said glass fiber F can be aimed at.

As described above, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the communication portion between the main stream feeder 21 (more specifically, each second main stream feeder 21B) and each branch feeder 22, 22 . 50, 50 . . . are provided with dampers 40, 40 .

When the manufacturing apparatus 1 having such a configuration is used to manufacture the glass fibers F, each damper 40 is used to adjust the opening area of each of the openings 21B2, and the molten glass flowing through each branch feeder 22 is adjusted. After adjusting the pressure loss of G, the molten glass G is withdrawn from each branch feeder 22 through the nozzle 31 of the bushing 30 to produce the glass fibers F.

By having such a configuration, according to the manufacturing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, the pressure loss of the molten glass G is adjusted for each branch feeder 22, and the production conditions (the amount of the glass fiber F to be manufactured conditions for determining thickness, number, etc.) can be set.
Therefore, for example, by arranging the bushing 30 at the bottom of a single feeder (for example, a feeder consisting only of the first mainstream feeder 21A) as in the prior art, and drawing out the molten glass G from the nozzle 31 of the bushing 30, the glass Unlike the case of manufacturing fibers F, it is possible to manufacture multiple types of glass fibers F at the same time.

Further, according to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, any branch feeder 22 among the plurality of branch feeders 22, 22 . . . It is possible to manufacture the glass fiber F with the damper 40 blocking the opening 21B2 of the communicating portion 50 between.

With such a configuration, for example, when periodic maintenance of equipment such as replacement of the bushing 30 is performed, the bushing 30 is placed at the bottom of a single feeder (for example, a feeder consisting only of the first mainstream feeder 21A). There is no need to stop the operation of the entire facility unlike the conventional manufacturing equipment that has been arranged, and it is possible to perform necessary maintenance while continuing the production of glass fiber F, so production capacity is improved. be able to.

[Replacement procedure for bushing 30]
Next, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a replacement method for replacing the bushing 30 provided in the manufacturing apparatus 1 due to periodic maintenance, changes in the production conditions of the glass fiber F, etc. Description will be made with reference to FIG.

As described above, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the bushing 30 is attached to the plurality of branch feeders 22 branched from the mainstream feeder 21 (more specifically, the second mainstream feeder 21B). . . , 30 .
The method for replacing the bushing 30 mainly includes a closing step S01, a discharging step S02, a replacing step S03, and the like, which are executed in chronological order.

The closing step S01 is a step of closing the opening 21B2 provided in the communication portion 50 between the mainstream feeder 21 (second mainstream feeder 21B) and the branch feeder 22 with the damper 40. FIG.
In the closing step S01, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the damper 40 is moved downward (lowered) by the elevating means 41 and stopped at the lowest position described above.
As a result, the opening 21B2 is closed by the damper 40, and the molten glass G supplied from the second mainstream feeder 21B to the branch feeder 22 is temporarily blocked.

Next, the discharge step S02 will be described.
The discharge step S<b>02 is a step of discharging the molten glass G remaining in the branch feeder 22 to the outside of the branch feeder 22 .
In the discharge step S02, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the molten glass G still remaining in the branch feeder 22 after being dammed in the closing step S01 is discharged into a plurality of nozzles 31 provided in the bushing 30. · 31 . . . to the outside of the branch feeder 22 .
As a result, substantially all of the molten glass G remaining in the branch feeder 22 is discharged to the outside of the branch feeder 22 .

Next, the replacement step S03 will be described.
The replacement step S03 is a step of performing replacement work for the bushing 30 .
In the replacement step S03, as shown in FIG. 3C, the existing bushing 30 (hereinafter referred to as "old bushing 30A" as appropriate) is removed from the branch feeder 22, and a new bushing 30 (hereinafter referred to as "old bushing 30A" as appropriate) is removed. “New bushing 30B”) is attached to the branch feeder 22 .
As a result, the bushing 30 provided in the branch feeder 22 is replaced with a new bushing 30, and the method for replacing the bushing 30 is completed.

As described above, the method for replacing the bushing 30 in the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is performed for each branch feeder 22 branched from the mainstream feeder 21 (second mainstream feeder 21B), and the damper 40 is used to After closing the opening 21B2 provided in the communication part 50 between the second mainstream feeder 21B) and the branch feeder 22 (blocking step S01) and discharging the molten glass G in the branch feeder 22 to the outside (discharging step S02), and the bushing 30 is replaced (replacement step S03).

Here, for example, in a conventional glass fiber manufacturing apparatus in which a bushing 30 is arranged at the bottom of a single feeder (for example, a feeder consisting only of the first mainstream feeder 21A), the bushing 30 is replaced. In this case, in order to stop the flow of the molten glass G flowing in the mainstream feeder 21, the heating of the bushing 30 is stopped and water is sprayed to partially melt the molten glass G in the mainstream feeder 21 located near the bushing 30. It must be cooled with water to solidify.
Therefore, immediately after the operation of replacing the bushing 30 is completed and the operation of the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus is started again, the portion that has been solidified by water cooling becomes devitrified and precipitates in the molten glass G, resulting in glass being manufactured. This tends to cause deterioration in the quality of the fiber F, and is a factor that causes a decrease in productivity.

Further, as described above, by spraying water onto the bushing 30 in order to stop the flow of the molten glass G flowing through the mainstream feeder 21, the mainstream feeder 21 is locally rapidly cooled. , which can easily cause breakage and damage.

In the manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of branch feeders 22, 22 . In addition, a damper 40 capable of opening and closing the opening 21B2 provided in the communication portion 50 between the main feeder 21 (second main feeder 21B) and each branch feeder 22 is provided, and the damper 40 closes the opening 21B2. After the molten glass G in the branch feeder 22 is discharged to the outside, the bushing 30 is replaced, so that the glass fiber due to devitrification is removed immediately after restarting the operation, as in the conventional glass fiber manufacturing apparatus. It does not cause deterioration of the quality of F, nor does it cause a decrease in productivity.

In addition, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to stop the flow of the molten glass G flowing through the branch feeder 22 by discharging water to the bushing 30, the branch feeder 22 locally abruptly Damage and damage due to cooling can be prevented as much as possible.

In the method of replacing the bushing 30 in the manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the heating step S04 of heating the internal space of the branch feeder 22 by the heating means 23 is performed after the replacement of the bushing 30 (replacement step S03). , may also be provided.

With such a configuration, it is possible to immediately raise the temperature of the molten glass G, which has started to flow again in the branch feeder 22, to a predetermined temperature after the completion of the replacement work of the bushing 30, and to maintain the temperature. Therefore, when restarting the operation of the branch feeder 22, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of quality defects in the manufactured glass fibers F as much as possible, and to restart the manufacturing apparatus 1 smoothly.

1 Glass fiber manufacturing equipment (manufacturing equipment)
10 glass melting furnace 20 feeder 21 mainstream feeder 21A first mainstream feeder (mainstream feeder)
21A1 side wall portion 21B second mainstream feeder (mainstream feeder)
21B1 side wall 21B2 opening 22 branch feeder 22a bottom 23 heating means 30 bushing 30A old bushing (bushing)
30B New bushing (bushing)
30a Bottom surface 31 Nozzle 40 Damper 41 Elevating means 50 Communicating part 100 Winding body S Glass strand F Glass fiber (glass filament)
G molten glass

Claims (9)

A glass melting furnace for producing molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a bushing arranged at the bottom of the feeder and having a plurality of nozzles, and withdrawing the molten glass from the nozzles. A method for producing glass fibers by
The feeder is
a mainstream feeder located downstream of the glass melting furnace;
a plurality of branch feeders branched and extended from the mainstream feeder and communicating with the mainstream feeder;
said bushing is located at the bottom of each said branch feeder;
A damper for opening and closing an opening provided in the communicating portion is provided in the communicating portion between the main stream feeder and each of the branch feeders,
adjusting the opening area of the opening with the damper;
A method for producing a glass fiber characterized by: By adjusting the opening area of the opening with the damper,
adjusting the liquid level of the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder to be constant;
The method for producing glass fiber according to claim 1, characterized in that: A heating means for heating the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder is provided,
adjusting the temperature of the molten glass to be constant by the heating means;
The method for producing glass fiber according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: in a state in which the opening of the communicating portion between any branch feeder of the plurality of branch feeders and the main stream feeder is blocked by the damper,
producing the glass fiber;
The method for producing a glass fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A glass melting furnace for producing molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a bushing arranged at the bottom of the feeder and having a plurality of nozzles, and withdrawing the molten glass from the nozzles. A method for replacing the bushing in a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing glass fiber by
The feeder is
a mainstream feeder located downstream of the glass melting furnace;
a plurality of branch feeders branched and extended from the mainstream feeder and communicating with the mainstream feeder;
said bushing is located at the bottom of each said branch feeder;
A damper for opening and closing an opening provided in the communicating portion is provided in the communicating portion between the main stream feeder and each of the branch feeders,
closing the opening of the communicating portion between the main stream feeder and the branch feeder by the damper;
After discharging the molten glass in the branch feeder to the outside,
performing replacement work of the bushing;
A bushing replacement method characterized by: The branch feeder is
A heating means for heating the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder,
After completing the replacement work of the bushing,
heating the internal space of the branch feeder by the heating means;
6. The method of replacing a bushing according to claim 5, characterized in that: A glass melting furnace for producing molten glass, a feeder through which the molten glass produced by the glass melting furnace flows, and a bushing arranged at the bottom of the feeder and having a plurality of nozzles, and withdrawing the molten glass from the nozzles. A glass fiber manufacturing device for manufacturing glass fiber by
The feeder is
a mainstream feeder located downstream of the glass melting furnace;
a plurality of branch feeders branched and extended from the mainstream feeder and communicating with the mainstream feeder;
said bushing is located at the bottom of each said branch feeder;
A communicating portion between the main stream feeder and each of the branch feeders is provided with a damper for opening and closing an opening provided in the communicating portion.
A glass fiber manufacturing device characterized by: The number of bushings arranged at the bottom of each branch feeder is two or less,
At the extended end of the branch feeder,
juxtaposed along the flow direction of the molten glass,
The glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized by: The branch feeder is
A heating means for heating the molten glass flowing in the branch feeder,
The glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that:

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