A New and Accurate Modeling Technique for Glass Resistance in Multiphase Multielectrode Glass Furnaces

One of the design elements involved in sizing the electrical power equipment for glass furnaces is the determination of the glass resistances between the operating electrodes. All methods used for this purpose to date are approximate and are based on a simple model considering the resistance between only two electrodes at the time. This paper presents a technique to develop a resistance model for any general configuration of electrodes and supply voltages in glass furnaces. The technique is based on relating the glass conductivity as represented by Ohm's law to the electrostatic property as represented by Gauss's law. The resistance model is then derived in a matrix form using the bus admittance frame of reference. A digital computer program has been developed to implement the proposed technique and example results are presented.