A method of minimizing the formation of a rhodium-platinum defect in a glass or glass ceramic material or in the melt thereof is provided. The method includes providing a vessel made of a platinum-rhodium alloy for use in a manufacturing process for obtaining the material, and an interface between the vessel and the melt is present. The method can include providing sufficient partial pressures of hydrogen outside and inside the vessel for controlling the partial pressure of oxygen in a region of the melt adjacent to the interface. A method of minimizing the formation of, or counteracting the impact of, a localized thermal, electrical, or composition cell in the melt during a manufacturing process is also provided. The method can include adding a multivalent compound to the melt, adding a mixer to the finer tube, adding a mixing step to the manufacturing process, or amplifying the mixing.

Provided is a manufacturing method for a glass article, including: a pre-heating step (S1) of heating a transfer pipe (7); and a transfer step (S4) of causing molten glass to flow through the transfer pipe (7) after the pre-heating step (S1). The transfer pipe (7) includes a main body portion (8) having a tubular shape and a flange portion (9a, 9b) formed on an end portion of the main body portion (8). The main body portion (8) is retained by a refractory (10). In the pre-heating step (S1), the main body portion (8) is heated while the flange portion (9a, 9b) is movably supported so that the flange portion (9a, 9b) is moved in accordance with extension of the main body portion (8).

In various embodiments, refractory-metal glass melt electrodes are single-crystalline, at least within an outer layer thereof.

An apparatus for transferring molten glass includes a wall including a refractory material and a metal layer provided on an inside of the refractory material, the metal layer coming into contact with the molten glass, and the metal layer being configured to guide the molten glass, the apparatus including a heater including a metal cover protruding to an inside of the wall, the metal cover coming into contact with the molten glass, the heater including a heat generating element electrically insulated from the metal cover, and the heat generating element receiving electric power to radiate heat rays to heat the metal cover from an inside.

Methods for reducing the oxygen concentration in an enclosure including a platinum-containing vessel through which molten glass is flowing are disclosed. The methods include injecting hydrogen gas into an oxygen-containing atmosphere flowing between the enclosure and a reaction chamber. The atmosphere is heated with a heating element in the reaction chamber, whereupon oxygen in the oxygen-containing atmosphere reacts with the hydrogen. In other embodiments, the hydrogen gas and oxygen-containing atmosphere can be exposed to a catalyst comprising platinum positioned in the reaction chamber.

A molten glass stirring device is provided that includes a container having an inlet through which molten glass flows in and an outlet through which molten glass flows out and a stirring mechanism having a vertically extending rotational shaft and an impeller provided on the rotational shaft to stir molten glass in the container. The molten glass stirring device further includes at least one of a first variable mechanism capable of adjusting the spacing between the impeller in the molten glass and the inner surface of the container by changing the horizontal position of the rotational shaft and a second variable mechanism capable of adjusting the spacing between the impeller in the molten glass and the surface of the molten glass by changing the vertical position of the rotational shaft.

Combustion burner panels, submerged combustion melters including one or more of the panels, and methods of using the same are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the burner panel includes a panel body having a first major surface defined by a lower fluid-cooled portion of the panel body, and a second major surface defined by an upper non-fluid cooled portion of the panel body. The panel body has at least one through passage extending from the first to the second major surface, the through passages accommodating a set of substantially concentric inner and outer conduits. The inner conduit forms a primary passage for fuel or oxidant, and the outer conduit forms a secondary passage between the outer conduit and the inner conduit for fuel or oxidant. A protective member is associated with each set. The burner panels promote burner life and melter campaign length.

A stirrer for glass melting which can be used over a prolonged life expectancy, while maintaining a high strength, even in an environment exposed to a high temperature and an oxygen-containing gas atmosphere for a long period of time, and can prevent the air bubbles from being mixed into the glass melt. A stirrer for glass melting is made of iridium or an iridium-based alloy, and has a rotary shaft and a stirring part, a surface region S1 of the surface of the rotary shaft above the stirring part is covered with a cylindrical cover, the cover has a two-layer structure in which an outer layer made of platinum or a platinum rhodium alloy and an inner layer made of platinum or a platinum rhodium alloy containing metal species are joined together, and oxide particles of metal species are precipitated in a dispersed state on a surface of the inner layer on an opposite side to a surface adjacent to the outer layer, wherein the stirrer for glass melting has a pipe made of iridium or an iridium-based alloy which surrounds at least the surface region S2 of the cover from the lower end of the cover to a predetermined height at an interval.

In manufacturing a glass article (GR) by causing a molten glass (GM) to flow through a transfer pipe (12) and to be transferred, the transfer pipe (12) includes: a pipe end portion (14) being an end portion in a pipe axis direction; a pipe-shaped portion (15); and a joining portion (16) configured to join the pipe end portion (14) and the pipe-shaped portion (15) to each other. The pipe end portion (14) includes a flange portion (17) and a curved portion (18) extending from an inner peripheral end (17a) of the flange portion (17) toward the pipe-shaped portion (15) side and being reduced in diameter toward the pipe-shaped portion (15) side. The pipe end portion (14) is made of a material having a smaller creep rupture strength and/or a larger creep strain rate than the pipe-shaped portion (15) at 1,500 C. and 1,000 hours.