A molten material furnace system having a liquid cooled flow control mechanism and method are disclosed. In particular, the flow control mechanism can include a needle including: a longitudinal axis; an outer conduit including an outer base end, an outer body, and an outer free end; an inner conduit including an inner base end, an inner body radially spaced from the outer body, an inner free end, and a central inlet passage extending between the inlet and the inner free end. Also disclosed is a needle control assembly to position the flow control needle relative to a stilling tank outlet orifice to control flow of molten material through the outlet orifice.

The present invention relates to a method for cooling a space around a sleeve shaft, a device for guiding a fluid along an outer surface area of a sleeve shaft, a sleeve shaft including such a device, and a refractory tube with such a sleeve shaft inserted. The present invention also relates to a system including such a device, which system may also include such a sleeve shaft and such a refractory tube.

The present invention relates to a method for cooling a space around a sleeve shaft, a device for guiding a fluid along an outer surface area of a sleeve shaft, a sleeve shaft including such a device, and a refractory tube with such a sleeve shaft inserted. The present invention also relates to a system including such a device, which system may also include such a sleeve shaft and such a refractory tube.

In a plunger assembly for forming ribbons of molten glass, at least one extruder plunger is guided in a vertical direction from and towards a tank adapted to contain a mass of molten glass from a guide head carried by a support arm kept fixed during the forming of the bead extruder plunger displaced by alternated cyclic motion with respect to the support arm according a predefined law of motion from one drive unit displaced above the support arm and at least partly above tank.

In a plunger assembly for forming ribbons of molten glass, at least one extruder plunger is guided in a vertical direction from and towards a tank adapted to contain a mass of molten glass from a guide head carried by a support arm kept fixed during the forming of the bead extruder plunger displaced by alternated cyclic motion with respect to the support arm according a predefined law of motion from one drive unit displaced above the support arm and at least partly above tank.

A transport guide, in the form of a conduit, for a molten glass transport cup is comprised of a glass contact material that supports the permeable flow of cooling gas from an outer surface to an inner surface of the conduit. When a molten glass charge is received in the conduit, the permeable flow of the cooling gas through the conduit fluidly displaces the glass charge radially inwardly away from the inner surface of the conduit to create a thermal break between the glass charge and the glass contact material. This thermal break helps minimize heat flow out of the molten glass charge. In this way, the molten glass charge can be received within the conduit of the transport cup, and in certain applications transported within the cup from one location to another location, while helping to preserve thermal homogeneity of the glass charge.

A method for producing a silica aerogel, the method including preparing a reactant by adding a basic catalyst to a first silica precursor solution, performing primary gelation in which the reactant is stirred to form a gel precursor, introducing a second silica precursor solution to a fiber, and performing a secondary gelation in which the gel precursor is introduced to the fiber to which the second silica precursor solution was introduced to form a silica aerogel.

A method for producing a silica aerogel, the method including preparing a reactant by adding a basic catalyst to a first silica precursor solution, performing primary gelation in which the reactant is stirred to form a gel precursor, introducing a second silica precursor solution to a fiber, and performing a secondary gelation in which the gel precursor is introduced to the fiber to which the second silica precursor solution was introduced to form a silica aerogel.

In a plunger assembly for forming ribbons of molten glass, at least one extruder plunger is guided in a vertical direction from and towards a tank adapted to contain a mass of molten glass from a guide head carried by a support arm kept fixed during the forming of the bead. The extruder plunger is displaced by alternated cyclic motion with respect to the support arm according a predefined law of motion from one drive unit displaced above the support arm and at least partly above the tank.

In a plunger assembly for forming ribbons of molten glass, at least one extruder plunger is guided in a vertical direction from and towards a tank adapted to contain a mass of molten glass from a guide head carried by a support arm kept fixed during the forming of the bead. The extruder plunger is displaced by alternated cyclic motion with respect to the support arm according a predefined law of motion from one drive unit displaced above the support arm and at least partly above the tank.