Development of a glass melting furnace with online control systems
W.Wongwan, J.Keawkao, K.Boonin, W.Sa-ardsin and W.N.Wongwan
Center of Excellence in Glass Technology and Materials Science (CEGM), Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Physics program, Faculty of science and technology, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, 73000, Thailand
Physics program, Faculty of science and technology, Thepsatri Rajabhat University, 15000, Thailand
Anuban Changwattahanbok Lopburi School, 15000, Thailand
Abstract
In this research, a small glass melting furnace was built with a dimension of 12 x 12 x 9 cm3. The tracking control and notification systems were developed using the Arduino board running through the internet. The 1.2-mm wires were twisted into the 8.3-mm heating coils with the resistance 12.0 Ω. When 11.0-A current was applied to the heating coil, the furnace can be operated at maximum heating rate around 5.7 ℃/min. and max continuous operating temperature at 1200 ℃. After the test run of this furnace and control system, it was found that this apparatus can be used as a replacement of a traditional one. Furthermore the cost of this furnace is cheaper than a traditional one up to 17 times.
Keywords: Melting furnace, Pot furnace, Temperature controller, Arduino
Topic: Physics related sciences