The launder of glass furnaces mainly consists of the stout brick and lip brick. It is an important part to connect the melting furnace and the tin bath and an important passage for molten glass to flow from the melting furnace to the tin bath.

There is about hundreds of tons of 1100℃ glass liquid flowing through the launder. Since the lip brick is subjected to direct impact of glass liquid here, it is eay to be eroded. Once the lip brick is eroded, it will directly lead to defects such as stripes and bubbles and affect the quality and yield of glass. Then the lip brick should be replaced. Since the lip brick has a special structure, it cannot be replaced individually, but be replaced after assempled with flow channel side wall bricks and the steel structure. Because the working temperature of lip bricks is very high, the time of replacing should be as short as possible. In general, the lip bricks will be replaced once during one campaign. 

 

1. Preparating 

1) Determine the part requiring being replaced and prepare all kinds of brick materials, generally including a set of launder sidewall brick and lip brick, a set of lip cushion brick and steel structure. 

2) Assemble the launder sidewall brick and lip brick and the steel structure. The center line of the lip brick should match with the center line of the steel structure. The gap between the launder sidewall brick and the steel structure should be sealed with insulation bricks. After assembling, put it aside the sidewall for preheating. 

3) Prepare a new flow channel cover tile and dampers tile to replace the old ones. They should be preheated.

4) According the size of the tin bath, make a vertical water bag and a horizontal water bag. The vertical water bag is used to cut off the convection between the tin bath and the outside to prevent heat loss and improve the operating enviroment. The horizontal water bag is put in the entrance of the tin bath and prevent the falling of deris into the tin bath. Meanwhile, it works as a operating platform for the operator.

5) Prepare heating and insulation of the tin bath. Check the tin bath electric heating element. If it is seriously damaged, prepare a temporary auxiliary heating apparatus. Then replace the center line mark of the structure and oil and loose the steel bolts of the steel structure. 

6) Reinforce the steel structure of the flow channel and install hanging points and vertices. Prepare wire rope and lifting equipment for lifting. 

7) Prepare heating tools including guns, hoses, LPG or diesel. 

8) Prepare hot repair tools such as ceramic fiber blanket, crowbar, a sledgehammer, flat shovel, hand grinder and iron hook wrench. 

9) Clean up debris at the site, install night lighting equipment to ensure nighttime construction, and install fire fighting equipment and facilities.