The foaming affects the glass quality
Normally a foam layer is formed when melting the batch (the raw materials). This foam might affect the quality of the ready glass.

Foam in glass melts originates both from air, which has been caught by the batch, and from gases which are emitted during the batch reactions (when the elements of the glass raw materials react with each other).

The changes of the oxidation state in the melt should also affect the foam formation.

The viscosity and surface tension of the melt affect the foam stability.

The project is focused on three factors affecting this foam formation:
1) The batch composition and the content of water and lye (caustic solution?)
2) The temperature - 1000-1400 °C
3) The furnace atmosphere

Project start with pre-test
By pre-testing we are going to investigate the possibility to document the bubble formation with a camera.

At the same time we are working on a method to measure the foaming volume in the pot.

Later we will measure the viscosity and the surface tension of the melt. Those will be the references to judge the stability of the foam.

In the beginning of the project we investigate if there is any appropriate way to take photos of the bubble formation in the furnace.