A laboratory test facility has been developed to measure evaporation rates of different volatile components from commercial & model glass compositions. In the set-up the furnace atmosphere, temperature level, gas velocity & batch composition are controlled. Evaporation rates have been measured for sodium, potassium, boron & chloride species released from different glass types. From mass transfer relations, derived from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling & experiments, & the measured volatilisation rates, information on the chemical activities of the volatile glass components can be derived. The measured evaporation rates or adapted mass transfer relations & chemical activities can be applied in mathematical models of evaporation. Such models have been developed to simulate evaporation processes in industrial glass furnaces.
