ForglassBoxLite is the first application of its kind that performs technological glass calculations on a smartphone. It makes it possible to:
• Calculate the raw materials for a batch, from which flint glass with a given chemical composition can be melted, with the use of selected raw materials and constraints (boundary conditions)
• Calculate the technological and physicochemical properties of this glass.
Given for this glass are: default chemical composition, recommended selection of raw materials and the boundary conditions that allow each type of glass to be obtained during melting in an industrial furnace. The calculations are performed using equations tested in industrial practice.
The aim of the developers of the application was to turn the modern smartphone into a handheld computing centre for a technologist. Unlike the computer, smartphone is a device that all manufacturers, processors and users of glass, as well as designers of equipment for the glass industry carry in their pocket and can access anywhere and at any time. The application is “smart”, which means that when calculating the proportions of individual raw materials, it takes into account not only the given chemical composition, but also the Batch Redox Number, necessary to obtain the expected colour of glass and optimizes the amount of sulphates, taking into account the needs of fining and SO3 saturation concentration in the glass of the given colour after forming. The application compares the chemical composition of the glass selected for calculations with the compositions of the raw materials selected for the batch and suggests the necessary corrected proportions of Al2O3/(Al2O3+SiO2), K2O/(K2O+Na2O) and MgO/(MgO+CaO). The calculated glass properties can be used for setting the temperature profiles for melting, fusing, tempering and annealing, optimizing the furnace’s thermal power requirements from combustion space and boosting, as well as furnace geometry.
Application architecture
The architecture of the application is user-friendly, offering less advanced users the option to select any of the default packages from an extensive list, while advanced technologists can modify most of the parameters in order to adapt them to the specific requirements of the production facility, local raw materials and their own habits. For the first group, a glossary of terms used in the application and in glass practice is included. For the second group of users (although certainly not limited only to them), the application provides a constantly updated list of innovative and tested solutions from Forglass.