A glass manufacturing apparatus includes a vessel and a filter positioned to receive a beam of light. The filter passes a second wavelength component of the beam of light through the filter while preventing a first wavelength component from the beam of light from passing through the filter. The glass manufacturing apparatus comprises a sensor positioned to receive the second wavelength component that has passed through the filter and that has been reflected within the vessel. Additionally, methods of determining a level of molten material within a glass manufacturing apparatus and methods of manufacturing glass are provided.

A glass manufacturing apparatus includes a vessel and a filter positioned to receive a beam of light. The filter passes a second wavelength component of the beam of light through the filter while preventing a first wavelength component from the beam of light from passing through the filter. The glass manufacturing apparatus comprises a sensor positioned to receive the second wavelength component that has passed through the filter and that has been reflected within the vessel. Additionally, methods of determining a level of molten material within a glass manufacturing apparatus and methods of manufacturing glass are provided.

A method of controlling a flowrate of molten material at a downstream location in a glass manufacturing process can include mixing the molten material at an upstream location positioned upstream from the downstream location relative to a flow direction of the molten material with a shaft including a plurality of protrusions. The method can also include measuring a torque of the shaft, measuring a level of the molten material at the upstream location, and calculating a viscosity of the molten material at the upstream location based on the measured torque and the measured level. In addition, the method can include estimating the flowrate based on the calculated viscosity, and controlling the flowrate at the downstream location based on the estimated flowrate.

A method of producing glass using submerged combustion melting is disclosed. The method includes introducing a vitrifiable feed material into a glass melt contained within a submerged combustion melter. The glass melt contained in the melter has a redox ratio defined as a ratio of Fe.sup.2+ to total iron in the glass melt. The method further includes combusting a combustible gas mixture supplied to each of the submerged burners to produce combustion products, and discharging the combustion products directly into the glass melt. Still further, the method includes adjusting the redox ratio of the glass melt by controlling one or more operating conditions of the submerged combustion melter selected from (1) an oxygen-to-fuel ratio of the combustible gas mixture supplied to each of the submerged burners, (2) a residence time of the glass melt, and (3) a gas flux through the glass melt.

A method of producing flint glass using submerged combustion melting is disclosed. The method includes operating a submerged combustion melter such that combustion products are discharged from one or more submerged burners combusting a combustible gas mixture that comprises fuel and oxygen. An oxygen-to-fuel ratio of the combustible gas mixture ranges from stoichiometry to 30% excess oxygen relative to stoichiometry, a temperature of a glass melt in the submerged combustion melter is between 1200° C. and 1500° C., a residence time of the glass melt is maintained between 1 hour and 10 hours, and a specific throughput rate of molten glass discharged from the submerged combustion melter ranges from 2 tons per day per meter squared of cross-sectional area of the submerged combustion melter [tons/day/m.sup.2] to 25 tons/day/m.sup.2. A method of forming glass containers from the molten glass discharged from the melter is also disclosed.

A method of making a glass article includes melting batch materials to produce molten glass, heating or cooling the molten glass to a temperature, forming a glass article from the molten glass. The batch materials include a plurality of viscosity-affecting components that become at least part of the glass article. Selection of the batch materials or the temperature was made at least in part using computer-implemented modeling where predicted equilibrium viscosity of the glass at the temperature is a function comprising concentrations of viscosity-affecting components and temperature-independent fitting coefficients for the viscosity-affecting components.

A method of making a glass article includes melting batch materials to produce molten glass, heating or cooling the molten glass to a temperature, forming a glass article from the molten glass. The batch materials include a plurality of viscosity-affecting components that become at least part of the glass article. Selection of the batch materials or the temperature was made at least in part using computer-implemented modeling where predicted equilibrium viscosity of the glass at the temperature is a function comprising concentrations of viscosity-affecting components and temperature-independent fitting coefficients for the viscosity-affecting components.

In embodiments, a method for operating a glass manufacturing apparatus may include heating a delivery conduit with resistive windings positioned around an exterior surface of the delivery conduit, the delivery conduit extending between a mixing vessel and a delivery vessel. The method may also include injecting electric current through the delivery conduit while heating the delivery conduit with resistive windings and prior to flowing molten glass through the delivery conduit thereby increasing a temperature of the of the delivery conduit, wherein an input heat flux into the delivery conduit is greater than an output heat flux away from the delivery conduit prior to flowing molten glass through the delivery conduit.

In embodiments, a method for operating a glass manufacturing apparatus may include heating a delivery conduit with resistive windings positioned around an exterior surface of the delivery conduit, the delivery conduit extending between a mixing vessel and a delivery vessel. The method may also include injecting electric current through the delivery conduit while heating the delivery conduit with resistive windings and prior to flowing molten glass through the delivery conduit thereby increasing a temperature of the of the delivery conduit, wherein an input heat flux into the delivery conduit is greater than an output heat flux away from the delivery conduit prior to flowing molten glass through the delivery conduit.

A method for analyzing a glass melt composition, in the manufacture of glass articles, includes sampling a gas composition comprising at least one gaseous species generated from the glass melt composition during a melting operation by taking a plurality of measurements of the gas composition over a period of time. The method also includes analyzing the sampled composition to determine an amount or concentration of the at least one gaseous species in the gas composition as a function of time.