JP6111946B2 - Manufacturing method of glass material - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a glass material.

In recent years, research on a containerless floating method has been made as a method for producing a glass material. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a raw material lump containing a metal oxide such as Al ₂ O ₃ , La ₂ O _3, and ZrO ₂ suspended in a gas floating furnace is irradiated with a laser beam to be heated and melted, and then cooled. Thus, a method for vitrification is described. Thus, in the containerless floating method, since the progress of crystallization due to contact with the wall surface of the container can be suppressed, even a material that could not be vitrified by a conventional manufacturing method using a container. It may be vitrified. Therefore, the containerless floating method is a method that should be noted as a method capable of producing a glass material having a novel composition.

International Publication No. 2010/071143

  Patent Document 1 describes the following method as a method for producing a glass raw material lump. The raw material batch powder obtained by blending glass raw materials such as metal oxides at a desired ratio is added with ethanol and further mixed, and then fired. The glass material after firing is ground in a mortar, and ethanol is added to adjust the viscosity, followed by pressing to obtain a disk-shaped glass material lump.

  When the glass raw material lump manufactured by the method described in Patent Document 1 is used, there is a problem that crystals are easily generated in the glass material.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of producing a glass material containing no crystals by a containerless floating method.

  The manufacturing method of the glass material which concerns on this invention is a manufacturing method of the glass material which obtains a glass material by heat-melting the suspended glass raw material and obtaining molten glass, and cooling a molten glass. In the manufacturing method of the glass material which concerns on this invention, raw material batch powder is used as a glass raw material.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, at least a part of the raw material batch powder may be heated and melted and solidified, and then floated.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, a raw material batch powder is provided by disposing a raw material batch powder on a molding surface of a mold having a plurality of gas ejection holes opened on the molding surface, and ejecting gas from the gas ejection holes. May be suspended. Further, the mold may be made of a porous body having open cells, and the gas ejection holes may be configured by open cells. In that case, it is preferable that the particle diameter of the raw material batch powder is larger than the diameter of the gas ejection holes.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the method which can manufacture the glass material which does not contain a crystal | crystallization by the containerless floating method can be provided.

It is typical sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an example of the preferable form which implemented this invention is demonstrated. However, the following embodiment is merely an example. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

  In this embodiment, a normal glass material, for example, a glass material that does not contain a network-forming oxide, and can be suitably manufactured even for a glass material having a composition that does not vitrify by a melting method using a container. Will be described. Specifically, according to the method of the present embodiment, for example, barium titanate glass material, lanthanum-niobium composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-niobium-aluminum composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-niobium-tantalum A composite oxide glass material, a lanthanum-tungsten composite oxide glass material, or the like can be suitably produced.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass material manufacturing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the glass material manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a mold 10. The molding die 10 has a molding surface 10a. The molding surface 10a is a curved surface. Specifically, the molding surface 10a has a spherical shape.

  The molding die 10 has a plurality of gas ejection holes that open to the molding surface 10a. Specifically, in this embodiment, the shaping | molding die 10 is comprised by the porous body which has the gas ejection hole comprised by the open cell. The gas ejection holes are opened in the molding surface 10a. Gas is supplied to the gas ejection holes from a gas supply mechanism 11 such as a gas cylinder. As a result, gas is ejected from the molding surface 10a.

  The type of gas is not particularly limited. The gas may be, for example, air or oxygen, or an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, argon gas, or helium gas.

  When manufacturing a glass material using the manufacturing apparatus 1, first, the glass raw material 12 is arrange | positioned on the molding surface 10a. Next, the glass raw material 12 is floated on the molding surface 10a by ejecting gas from the gas ejection holes opened in the molding surface 10a. That is, the glass raw material 12 is held in a state where the glass raw material 12 is not in contact with the molding surface 10a. In this state, the glass material 12 is irradiated with laser light from the laser light irradiation device 13. Thereby, the glass raw material 12 is heated and melted to be vitrified to obtain molten glass. Thereafter, the glass material can be obtained by cooling the molten glass. In the step of heating and melting the glass raw material 12 and the step of cooling until the temperature of the molten glass and further the glass material becomes at least the softening point or less, at least gas ejection is continued, and the glass raw material 12, molten glass or glass It is preferable to suppress contact between the material and the molding surface 10a.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the glass raw material 12 is heated and melted by irradiating laser light will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the glass material 12 may be heated and melted by atmospheric heating or the like.

  By the way, the glass raw material 12 is generally comprised by the sintered compact of the tablet which press-molded the raw material batch powder so that patent document 1 may also describe. However, as a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has found that when a glass raw material is constituted by a sintered body of a tablet obtained by press-molding a raw material batch powder, crystals are likely to occur in the manufactured glass material. Further, the present inventor has discovered that one reason is that impurities are mixed into the glass raw material in the press molding process, the tablet sintering process, and the like.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a raw material batch powder is used as the glass raw material 12. That is, the raw material batch powder is floated on the molding surface 10a and melted to obtain a molten glass. Here, the raw material batch powder refers to, for example, a powder obtained by mixing powders that are glass raw materials such as metal oxide powders and mixing them so as to obtain a desired glass composition. By using the raw material batch powder as the glass raw material 12, it is possible to prevent impurities from being mixed into the glass raw material 12. Therefore, it can suppress that a crystal | crystallization is contained in the manufactured glass material, and can manufacture the homogeneous glass material which does not contain a crystal | crystallization. The raw material batch powder may be granular.

  Since the raw material batch powder is used as the glass raw material 12, it is more preferable to use the molding die 10 composed of a porous body as in the present embodiment. By doing so, the glass raw material 12 can be floated suitably. The particle diameter of the raw material batch powder constituting the glass raw material 12 is preferably larger than the diameter of the gas ejection holes of the mold 10. In this case, it is possible to suppress the glass raw material 12 from entering the gas ejection holes and clogging the gas ejection holes.

  Further, from the viewpoint of stably floating the glass raw material 12, at least a part of the raw material batch powder may be heated and melted and solidified and then floated. Specifically, the raw material batch powder is disposed on the molding surface 10a, and the raw material batch powder is irradiated with laser light from the laser light irradiation device 13, and at least a part of the raw material batch powder is heated and melted and solidified to form a lump. Then, the gas may be floated on the molding surface 10a by ejecting gas from the gas ejection holes opened on the molding surface 10a.

1: Glass material manufacturing apparatus 10: Mold 10a: Molding surface 11: Gas supply mechanism 12: Glass raw material block 13: Laser beam irradiation apparatus

Claims (4)

A glass material production method for obtaining a glass material by cooling the molten glass after heating and melting a suspended glass raw material to obtain a molten glass,
Using raw material batch powder as the glass raw material ,
The raw material batch powder is floated by arranging the raw material batch powder on the molding surface of a molding die having a plurality of gas ejection holes opened in the molding surface, and ejecting gas from the gas ejection holes . Production method.   The method for producing a glass material according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the raw material batch powder is heated, melted and solidified, and then floated. The method for producing a glass material according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the molding die is made of a porous body having open cells, and the gas ejection holes are constituted by the open cells. The manufacturing method of the glass material as described in any one of Claims 1-3 whose particle diameter of the said raw material batch powder is larger than the diameter of the said gas ejection hole.

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