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Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

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 Glass Technol.: Eur. J. Glass Sci. Technol. A, June 2013, 54 (3), 119–131

Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the

glass melting process
Pawel Rotter1

AGH University of Science and Technology, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

Andrzej Skowiniak Rotter figs 1.pdf 1 24/05/2013 14:32:12

P.B.P.H. Techglass, ul. Juliusza Lea 114, 30-133 Krakow, Poland
Manuscript received 31 August 2012
Revision received 6 November 2012
Accepted 7 November 2012

In this article we propose a method for the automatic analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process based on a
series of images captured by a camera inside a glass furnace. The method is designed for the analysis of two aspects of
symmetry: the symmetry of the batch distribution and the symmetry of the temperature distribution. Temperature is
assessed from the colour of visible light emitted by surfaces in the tank. We have proposed a set of asymmetry indicators
that are not influenced by asymmetries that result from glass melting technology (consecutive heating of first one, then
the other side of the furnace). A proposed rule-based system deduces the reasons for asymmetries from these asymmetry
indicators: whether heating of the left and right hand sides of the furnace is unbalanced or whether chargers are not
working properly. A prototype system based on algorithms proposed in this article has been tested at the following
glassworks: Warta Glass Jedlice SA, Huta Szkla Orzesze and Stolzle Czestochowa Sp. z o.o.

1. Introduction
A large part of the information that is used to control
the glass melting process is taken from images of the
glass surface. This is usually captured by a camera
mounted in the upper part of a furnace chamber.
Apart from the common use of optical inspection
systems for quality control in the glass industry(1)
there are few systems for the automatic image analy-
sis of the glass melting process; this is still often done
by humans. For example, none of three glassworks
where the proposed system was tested (listed at the
end of this section) was equipped with a system for
the automatic analysis of images from the furnace.
An operator controls the process based on the dis-
tribution of the batch (unmelted raw material, see
Figure 1), which forms a solid blanket that floats on
the bath surface. If the batch comes too close to the
end of the tank, the quality of the product decreases,
so the temperature needs to be raised. If the batch
melts too early, while it is near the front of the tank, Figure 1. Image of the furnace. Within the ROI (marked by
pollution increases, especially emissions of NOx, and solid line) there are three classes: molten glass (the bright-
the process consumes more energy than necessary. est), batch and sediment (the darkest). The dashed line
This energy expenditure is a significant part of total represents the line of bubbling [Colour available online]
production costs.(2)
This article focuses on the automatic analysis of the distribution and the symmetry of the temperature
symmetry of the melting process based on a series of distribution. Temperature is assessed from the colour
images captured by a camera inside the glass furnace. of visible light emitted by surfaces in the tank. The
The proposed method is designed to analyse two as- differences in colour are too small to be noticed by an
pects of symmetry: the symmetry of the batch blanket operator, but are sufficient for the automatic analysis
C
of correlated colour temperature (CCT) based on an
1
Corresponding author. Email rotter@agh.edu.pl image from a standard camera. If an asymmetry is
M

Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013 119
Y

CM

MY
P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process
detected, the combined analysis of the two aspects
mentioned above, the asymmetry of the batch blanket
and the asymmetry of the temperature distribution,
allows the reasons for that asymmetry to be deduced:
i.e. whether the heating of the left and right hand
sides of the furnace is unbalanced or whether the
chargers are not working properly.
Several systems for optical melting control are
described in the literature,(3,4) including the auto-
matic, image-based classification of flames in a glass
furnace,(5) but none of them offer a method for auto-
matically analysing melting process symmetry. One
of difficulties in the proper assessment of symmetry
is the fact that, in most glass furnaces, the tank is
heated by two burners working consecutively. This
means that, at any given time, there is always some
asymmetry in the distribution of the batch blanket
and especially in the distribution of temperature.
The proposed algorithm only calculates asymmetry
resulting from an imbalance in the process and it
compensates for temperature asymmetry resulting
from the consecutive heating of the left and right
hand sides of the furnace.
In Section 2 preliminary image processing is
described: segmentation of the batch blanket; seg-
mentation of sediment at the camera lens and map-
ping of the image to a coordinate system related to
the glass surface (viewed from above). In Section 3
an indicator is proposed for the assessment of the
batch blanket symmetry and in Section 4 a method
for temperature symmetry analysis is presented.
Temperature asymmetry indicators are defined,
which include compensation for the asymmetrical
component that results from consecutive heating of
the left and right hand sides of the furnace. In Section
5 a simple rule-based system is presented for inferring
the settings of the chargers and burners based on the
detected asymmetry of the batch blanket and the
temperature distribution. In Section 6 an example of
the analysis of symmetry is provided using real data
from the Orzesze glassworks. A prototype system
that includes algorithms proposed in this article is
being implemented at three glassworks: Warta Glass
Jedlice SA, Huta Szkla Orzesze and Stolzle Czesto-
chowa Sp. z o.o.
2. Preliminary image processing:
segmentation and mapping
The segmentation stage of image analysis separates
areas that represent different objects in the image.22
Separation of batch from melted glass is necessary
before any indicators that characterise the batch
blanket distribution can be calculated. Glass furnaces
2 There is another meaning of ‘segmentation’ in glass melting technol-
ogy: namely the separation of the stages of the glass fusion process into
distinct devices.(6) In this article the term ‘segmentation’ is always used
for image segmentation.
120 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
are heated consecutively by two sets of burners.
When they switch (one set of burners stops and the
other starts), there is a short time, called reversal,
when there is no flame in the furnace and it is in this
moment that the system captures a clear image from
inside the furnace. Reversals are scheduled regular
time intervals, e.g. every 30 min, and this frequency is
sufficient for the collection of data since glass melting
is a slow process.
Segmentation is based on a greyscale image, but
the analysis of temperature symmetry proposed in
Section 4 requires a series of colour images as input.
Most experiments were conducted on images with
24 bit colour resolution, however, as demonstrated
in Section 6, 15 bits per pixel is also sufficient for the
statistical analysis of temperature symmetry. In all
experiments images with resolutions of 512×512 or
800×600 pixels were used. The terms ‘left’ and ‘right’
hand side of the furnace in this article are related to
the point of view of the camera.3
During calibration, which is performed once for a
given camera setup, the user identifies the quadrangle
of the glass surface as the region of interest (ROI) and
all subsequent processing is applied within this area.
The next step is noise removal using Gaussian and
median filtration. Filtration parameters (in this case
Gaussian standard deviation and the size of the filter
mask) should be adjusted based on the image qual-
ity. Strong filtration is necessary when low-quality
cameras often installed in furnaces are used. When
a good quality camera is available (low noise level),
excessive low-pass processing deteriorates the image
quality.
Image segmentation, described in sections 2.1 and
2.2, divides the ROI into three classes: batch, melted
glass, and sediment on the camera lens, which can
be seen in Figure 1.
After segmentation, the image is mapped to the
coordinates of the glass surface (from a bird’s eye
view) – see section 2.3. The general scheme for image
segmentation and mapping is shown in Figure 2.
2.1. Batch segmentation
The batch blanket is segmented based on a greyscale
version of the filtered image. At the calibration stage,
as well as defining the ROI, the user marks two sets
of example points indicating areas of batch and
molten glass. These example points are used to set
the threshold (Figure 3).
Two methods for automatic threshold setting were
selected from a number of alternatives(7) and tested:
(a) setting the threshold at the local minimum of the
image histogram between two peaks that correspond
to an area of batch area and an area of molten glass;
3 The notation ‘left’ and ‘right’ in this article is consistent with sides of
the image, so it is opposite to technological sides of the furnace if the
camera is located at the end of the furnace.
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

(a)
Tank Tank Image from
dimention borders camera

Region of interest

Segmentation of image to:

- batch area
Parameters of perspective projection CCT
- melted glass area
- sediment area

Reversed perspective projection Visualisation

Memory Process parameters for the current moment

Symmetry parameters

Figure 2. Image segmentation and projection scheme

(b)
(b) a Bayesian classifier, where a Gaussian grey
level distribution is assumed within one class and
parameters are estimated from the example points.
Batch borders are detected more precisely using
method (b). This can be explained by the fact that
the diversification of the grey level is substantially
different in the two classes (higher for molten glass),
which is taken into consideration when a Bayesian
classifier is used. Regardless of the method used,
the user may modify the threshold in an interactive
mode, observing the threshold level in the histogram
igs 3.pdf 1 and the corresponding
24/05/2013 14:31:37 batch contours.

Figure 4. Segmentation of batch from Figure 3 based on:

2.2. Lens sediment segmentation (a) histogram minimum (b) Bayesian classification
Glass vapour constantly condenses on the camera Rotter figs 5.pdf 1 24/05/2013 15:53:18
lens or on the protective glass during the melting the side columns of the image are used as a starting
process and limits the field of view – as shown in point for the floodfill algorithm. The area along the
Figure 6. The correct identification of the area of sedi- edge of the sediment has an intermediate greyscale,
ment allows it to be eliminated from the calculations which could be incorrectly classified as a batch area.
C

or, if too much of the image is obscured, to indicate To avoid this misclassification, the area classified as
M
that the camera needs cleaning. sediment is dilated (the diameter of the structuring
Sediment first appears around
Y
the edges of the element, based on experiments, should be about
image and the obscured area grows towards the D1=15 pixels) and all isolated areas previously clas-
centre of the image. Therefore,
CM the bottom row and sified as batch are re-classified as sediment if they
lie entirely within a D2-pixel wide zone along the
MY
(a)

CY

CMY

(b)

Figure 5. Segmentation threshold (green line) set at the

local minimum of the histogram (a) and calculated using a
Figure 3. ROI with example points marked by the user: Bayesian classifier (b). The yellow and red lines correspond
crosses denote areas of batch blanket and stars denote areas to example points of batch and melting glass marked by
of molten glass [Colour available online] the user [Colour available online]

Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013 121

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P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process
Figure 6. Image with sediment on the camera lens result-
ing from condensation of glass vapour. This image comes
from the Orzesze glassworks
sediment border (D2=20 pixels).
Note that the actual area of the glass surface
obscured by sediment is usually much smaller than
it appears in the perspective view provided by the
camera. For example, in the perspective view in
Figure 6 sediment obscures 13% of the glass surface,
but after mapping the image to the glass surface
coordinate system it covers only 2 % (Figure 8(b)).
Rotter figs 7.pdf 1 24/05/2013 14:30:27
2.3 Image mapping
Based on the tank’s dimensions and reference points
marked by the user on the camera image (Figure
7(a)), the perspective projection image from the
camera is mapped onto the coordinate system related
to the glass surface – Figure 7(b) (for perspective
transformation see e.g. Ref. 8. If the furnace includes
bubbling, its location helps in the precise calculation
of projection parameters.
(a) (b)
Figure 7. (a) Location of the ROI and bubbling identified by the user during the calibration stage define a rectangle. (b)
Segmented image from Figure 4 after mapping (axes scale in cm). The white area is part of the glass surface outside the
camera’s field of view [Colour available online]
122 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
C
Obviously, the part of image closer to the camera
has a denser representation in the mapped image
(Figure 8(a)). This is a desirable feature since cameras
are usually located at the ends of tanks, where the
distribution of the batch and temperatures are more
important for the process.
3. Analysis of batch blanket symmetry
The distribution of the batch blanket on the glass
surface is one of the main factors taken into consid-
eration in the control of the glass melting process.
If too much batch is close to the end of the tank, the
production quality can suffer. If there is not enough
batch, it can be deduced that the tank is overheated
and pollution and energy consumption is, therefore,
unnecessarily high. If the distribution of the batch
blanket is not symmetric, either heating of the left
and the right hand sides of the furnace is unbalanced
or the chargers are not working properly. The article
focuses on the symmetry of the melting process.
Below, indicators are proposed that can be used to
detect asymmetry in the process and to infer possible
reasons. The asymmetry of batch blanket distribution
will be considered in three zones defined by the user
(Figure 9):
• zone Z1 is the area that is usually covered by
the batch blanket;
• zone Z2 is the area where the batch melts; and
• zone Z3 is the glass area where only small pieces
of the batch are allowed.
Let us define the batch asymmetry indicator for
zone Zn as:
2 S
Φn = − mean ∫ xb( x , y )d x (1)
S2 y∈Zn −S
where x and y are the axes of the glass surface coor-
dinate system, as shown in Figure 9. S is half of the
tank width and b(x,y) is a binary variable equal to
1 where the batch blanket covers the glass surface
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
0 100 200 300
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

Figure 10. Schematic diagram showing that areas with

(a) (b)
Figure 8. (a) Sparse representation: each point represents
one pixel of batch area in the original image. The density
of points represents the effective resolution, which depends
on location. (b) Segmented image from Figure 6 – it can be
seen that, after mapping, the proportion of the area covered
by sediment to the total image area is very different than
in the perspective view [Colour available online]
C
symmetric counterparts that are located outside the field of
view are eliminated from further computations. Consecu-
tive heating of the left and right hand sides of the furnace
may result in an asymmetry in batch distribution at any
given time. For this reason the assessment of asymmetry
should be based on at least two consecutive reversals. The
details of inferences that can be made about the process
from the indicator proposed are presented in Section 5
[Colour available online]

M
4. Analysis of temperature symmetry
at location (x,y) and 0 otherwise. Intuitively, the
Y

indicator Φ is proportional to the torque that would In this section a method for the analysis of tempera-
1result from ‘loading’ the glass surface with batch (as- ture distribution symmetry in a glass furnace is pro-
CM

Rotter figs 9.pdf 24/05/2013 14:29:46

suming a uniform batch thickness and a pivot at axis

MY
posed. It includes compensation for the temperature
y). Φ is normalized to be in the range [−1,1], and for
CY
asymmetry that results from consecutive heating
the symmetric distribution of batch Φ=0. A positive
CMY of the left and right hand sides of the furnace and
value for Φ means that the batch has shifted to the
K
considers only the asymmetry component resulting
left side, a negative value means that it has shifted to from asymmetrical settings for chargers and burners.
the right side. When the field of view is not precisely The output of this algorithm will be used together
symmetric, areas with symmetric counterparts that with the results of the batch symmetry analysis as an
are out of the field of view are eliminated from the input for a rule-based system proposed in Section 5
calculations (Figure 10). Therefore, the asymmetric that is used to indicate which settings are incorrect.
location of the camera does not result in errors when
calculating Φ, it simply makes the area considered in
4.1 Calculation of CCT
the calculations smaller.
-S 0 S Temperatures in glass furnaces are usually measured
0 at several points by thermocouples. There are meth-
x ods for estimating the temperature distribution on
100
Left Right Zone Z1 a surface based on known temperatures for several
side side (batch zone)
200 points. Auchet et al(9) developed a physical model
of the furnace, which includes thermal conduction,
300
radiation and convection. Their model requires,
400 however, a number of parameters for a furnace. Ther-
Zone Z2 mocouples, which are usually located in the bottom
500 (melting zone) and walls of the tank do not allow estimation of the
bath surface temperature due to the very low con-
600
ductivity of the batch, even if a sophisticated model
700 is used. Moreover, in some furnaces, thermocouples
Zone Z3 are located only along the furnace axis, so they cannot
800 (glass zone) be used to estimate the symmetry of the temperature
900
distribution.
0 100 200 300
More practical solutions are based on infrared or
y near-infrared (NIR) CCD cameras. Rue & Zelepouga(10)
Figure 9. Batch asymmetry indicators are calculated for proposed a system in which temperature is calculated
the zones defined by the user [Colour available online] based on two, narrow band near-infrared images at

Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013 123
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

1450°C

1400°C

1350°C
Figure 11. CCT inside the glass furnace at the Warta Glass Jedlice glassworks [Colour available online]

different frequencies (750 and 800 nm). This allows
for a relatively precise calculation but has the dis-
advantage of the cost related to the use of a special
NIR camera with two narrow band filters, which are
switched mechanically or electronically, if an LCD
filter is used. Installation of an additional camera in a
furnace chamber is expensive, mostly because of the
cost of a heat protected dock or a cooled periscope
system.
Since the goal is the analysis of symmetry, rela-
tive differences in temperature need to be calculated
rather than precise values. For this reason a cost-
effective method can be proposed that uses only one
CCD
Rotter figs 12.pdf camera14:27:20
1 24/05/2013 working in the visible spectrum – the
same camera that is already used for process super-
vision (installed in every glass furnace chamber)
and the same camera can be used for the analysis of
batch distribution symmetry. This solution is much
less expensive than installing an additional infrared
or NIR camera, especially since an existing heat-
protected dock is used.
Electromagnetic radiation, which is emitted by all
bodies with a temperature above 0 K, becomes visible
light if the temperature of the body is greater than
about 800 K. The colour of emitted light depends
strictly on the temperature of the body. The Planck-
ian locus is a trajectory, in a given colour space, that
corresponds to the light emitted by ideal blackbody
radiators.(11) In practice, emitted colours do not cor-
respond precisely to blackbody radiation. The cor-
related colour temperature (CCT) is the temperature
of the Planckian radiator with a perceived colour that
most closely resembles that of a given stimulus at the
same brightness and under specified viewing condi-
tions (CIE).(12) There are many methods for calculating
CCT.(13–15) The CCT in a glass furnace calculated using
the widely adopted Robertson method(16) is shown
in Figure 11.
Actual temperatures in the furnace may be slightly
different from the calculated CCT because of the
following reasons: (i) surfaces in the furnace are not
ideal Planckian radiators; (ii) the light captured by
the camera is a superposition of emitted and reflected
radiation (reflected radiation can be influence the
spectrum especially for small viewing angles); (iii)
glass emission characteristics are sensitive to the
angle; (iv) hot mirrors used in cameras, apart from
stopping infrared light, also affect camera charac-

(a) (b)
Figure 12. (a) Image from the Stolzle Czestochowa glassworks before removal of the additional filter and (b) the corre-
sponding distribution of colours in xy space compared to the Planckian locus [Colour available online]

124 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013

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P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

Rotter figs 14.pdf 1 24/05/2013 16:15:57

(a) (b)
Figure 13. Images of the glass surface captured at two consecutive reversals. Images from Warta Glass Jedlice SA [Colour
available online]

teristics in the visible part of spectrum. These issues

however do not substantially influence our method
for symmetry analysis, where errors across the width
compensate each other and the differences in errors
across the length, resulting from differences in the
viewing angle (point (iii) above), do not influence
axial symmetry.
In some furnaces there are additional filters, in-
stalled in the front of the camera. For example, at the
Stolzle Czestochowa glassworks, an additional filter
that had been installed had to be removed to enable
the CCT calculation to be made. The image from
the camera before the filter was removed is shown Figure 14. Temperature distributions for images in Figure
in Figure 12(a). In Figure 12(b) it can be seen that 13 [Colour available online]
the colours in xy space are not distributed along the
Planckian locus, which is a consequence of the fact areas of batch symmetry and the intersection of the
that the colours in Figure 12(a) do not correspond to areas of glass symmetry, defined in section 4.3. Asym-
thermal radiation. C metries resulting from reason (b) are compensated
M when calculating cross indicators of temperature
asymmetry proposed in section 4.4.
4.2 The influence of reversals on the
Y

The method described in sections 4.3 and 4.4 will

asymmetry of the temperature distribution
CM

MY
An asymmetry in temperature distribution is, to some
CY
extent, natural in the glass melting process. The two
CMY
main factors that cause some temperature asym-
K
metry, even if the process is correctly controlled, are:
(a) the asymmetry of batch blanket distribution;
irregular batch melting is natural and ideal sym-
metry in batch distribution is neither achievable
nor necessary;
(b) consecutive heating of the left and right hand
sides of the tank, which is a feature of glass
melting technology.
The asymmetry that follows from reasons (a) and
(b) is, as we said, natural and achieving full symmetry
of batch displacement and symmetry of bath surface
temperature is neither achievable nor necessary. Our
goal is therefore not detection of asymmetry itself but
detection of incorrect firing or charging, which can be
identified based on analysis of how the asymmetry
changes in time. The algorithm is based on images
from at least two consecutive reversals. In order to
discard any asymmetries resulting from reason (a),
the calculation area is limited to the intersection of the
be illustrated using an example from two consecutive
reversals presented in Figure 13. Corresponding CCT
distributions are shown in Figure 14. The left hand
side of the furnace was fired before the first reversal.
Consequently, less unmelted batch (Figure 13(a)) and
higher temperatures (Figure 14(a)) are observed on the
left hand side. The right hand side was fired before the
second reversal, and it can be seen that there is less
unmelted batch on the right (Figure 13(b)) and that
the right hand side is slightly warmer (Figure 14(b)),
although the difference in temperature between the left
and right hand sides is smaller than at the first reversal.
Indicators proposed in the following subsections allow
the detection of only those asymmetries that do not
result from the glass melting technology by combining
these two distributions.
4.3 Areas of batch symmetry and glass symmetry
The temperature symmetry is considered separately
for the area of the batch and for the area of melted
glass. In order to achieve robustness of temperature
asymmetry indicators to asymmetric batch distribu-

Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013 125
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

100 100 100 100

200 200 200 200

300 300 300 300

400 400 400 400

500 500 500 500

600 600 600 600

700 700 700 700

800 800 800 800

900 900 900 900

1000 1000 1000 1000

100 200 300 400 500 600 100 200 300 400 500 600 100 200 300 400 500 600 100 200 300 400 500 600

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 15. (a) batch area B1 (dark) and glass area G1 (light) for the first reversal (b) batch symmetry area B1sym (dark)
and glass symmetry area G1sym (light) for the first reversal, (c) and (d) corresponding areas for the second reversal: B2,
G2 (figure (c)), B2sym and G2sym (figure (d)) [Colour available online]

tion, the area considered for calculation is limited (light) for the first reversal. In Figure 15(c) and (d) the
according to the algorithm presented below: analogous areas for the second reversal are shown.
1. Calculation of the batch area B1 and glass area Figure 16 shows the intersection of the areas
G1 for the first reversal. shown in Figure 15(b) and (d): the intersection of
2. Calculation of B1′ – axially symmetric with B1 batch symmetry areas Bsym (dark) and the intersection
and G1′ – axially symmetric with G1. The central of glass symmetry areas Gsym (light).
line of the furnace is the axis of symmetry. The indicators of temperature asymmetry for a
3. Calculation of intersections: B1sym=B1«B1′ and considered pair of reversals will be calculated only
G1sym=G1«G1′. Sets B1sym and G1sym will be referred within these areas.
the batch14:35:39
to1as24/05/2013
Rotter figs 16.pdf symmetry area and glass symmetry
area, respectively.
4.4 Cross indicators of temperature asymmetry
4. Calculation of sets B2sym and G2sym for the second
reversal in the same way as B1sym and G1sym were In this section a method for estimating temperature
calculated for the first Rotter
reversal.
figs 17.pdf 1 24/05/2013 16:26:22 asymmetry is proposed, that is robust to the asym-
5. Calculation of sets: B sym =B 1sym «B 2sym and metry factor resulting from the alternating firing
G sym=G 1sym«G 2sym. Sets B sym and G sym will be of the left and right hand sides of the furnace. It is
referred to as the intersection of the areas of batch based on a pair of temperature distributions from
symmetry and the intersection of the areas of glass consecutive reversals. When firing is symmetrical
symmetry. (equal power to burners acting symmetrically), the
Figure 15(a) presents the result of the segmentation temperature distribution on the left hand side at the
of the glass surface and Figure 15(b) the corresponding first reversal (denoted 1L) should be symmetrical to
batch symmetry area (dark) and glass symmetry area the temperature distribution on the right hand side
at the second reversal (denoted 2R). In the example
100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

(a) (b)
1000
100 200 300 400 500 600 Figure 17. Juxtapositions of CCTs for the intersection of
Figure 16. Intersection of areas of batch symmetry Bsym areas of glass symmetry: (a) the sides where firing has just
and intersection of areas of glass symmetry Gsym [Colour finished and (b) the sides where firing is about to start
available online] [Colour available online]

126 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
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CM

MY
P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

Table 1. Rules for inferences about the type of asymmetry according to asymmetry indicators
Symbol Condition Type of asymmetry
Batch distribution asymmetries
A1 For all pairs of consecutive reversals k and k+1: mean (Φ1k, Φ1k+1)>∆Φ1 Batch asymmetry in zone Z1
– more batch on the right side
A2 For all pairs of consecutive reversals k and k+1: mean (Φ1k, Φ1k+1)<−∆Φ1 Batch asymmetry in zone Z1
– more batch on the left side
A3 For all pairs of consecutive reversals k and k+1: mean (Φ2k, Φ2k+1)>∆Φ2 Batch asymmetry in zone Z2
– more batch on the right side
A4 For all pairs of consecutive reversals k and k+1: mean (Φ2k, Φ2k+1)<−∆Φ2 Batch asymmetry in zone Z2
– more batch on the left side
Firing asymmetries
A5 ' '
For all pairs of consecutive reversals: ⁄ ΨG>0 and mean( ⁄ ΨG)>∆ ⁄ Ψ ' The right hand burners are heating the left hand
Meaning: in the juxtaposition of non-fired sides the left hand side is always side more strongly than the left hand burners
warmer than the right hand side and the average difference in CCT is are heating the right side
greater than ∆Ψ
A6 ' '
For all pairs of consecutive reversals: ⁄ ΨG<0 and mean( ⁄ ΨG)<−∆ ⁄ Ψ '
The left hand burners are heating the right hand
Meaning: in the juxtaposition of non-fired sides the right hand side is always side more strongly than the right hand burners
warmer than the left hand side and the average difference in CCT is are heating the left hand side
greater than ∆Ψ
A7 '
For all pairs of consecutive reversals: ΨG>0 and mean( ΨG)>∆ Ψ ' ' The left hand burners are heating the left hand side
Meaning: in the juxtaposition of fired sides the left hand side is always more strongly than the right hand burners are heating
warmer than the right hand side and the average difference in CCT is the right hand side
greater than ∆Ψ
A8 '
For all pairs of consecutive reversals: ΨG<0 and mean ( ΨG)<−∆ Ψ ' ' The right hand burners are heating the right hand side
Meaning: in the juxtaposition of fired sides the right hand side is always more strongly than the left hand burners are heating
warmer than the left side and the average difference in CCT is greater the left hand side
than ∆Ψ

{
shown in Figure 17, these are the sides where firing and a cross indicator for non-fired sides:
has just finished. Similarly, there should be symmetry
ΨG1L−2R if firing has finished for the left hand
between the left hand side at the second reversal (2L) side at the 2nd reversal and the right
and the right hand side at the first reversal (1R); in the hand side at the 1st reversal
example these are the sides where firing is just about '⁄ ΨG= (5)
to start. In order to achieve robustness to irregular
batch distribution, which may result from asymmetric ΨG2L−1R if firing has finished for the left hand
side at the 1st reversal and the right
or irregular charging, calculations are performed for hand side at the 2nd reversal
the intersection of the areas of batch symmetry Bsym
and the intersection of the areas of glass symmetry The following sections demonstrate how the
Gsym. Figure 17 presents a juxtaposition of temperature indicators defined above can be used to analyse the
distributions within the Gsym area for 1L»2R (Figure symmetry of the process.
17(a)) and 2L»1R (Figure 17(b)). The numbers: CCTG1L,
CCTG2R, CCTG2L, CCTG1R are mean temperature values
5. Inferences about the process settings
for the corresponding areas. The asymmetry observed
from the asymmetry indicators
in both juxtapositions indicates that the work being
done by the burners is not fully symmetrical. Scalar A simple rule-based system proposed in this section
indicators for firing asymmetry are: comprises two sets of rules (Figure 18). The goal of
the first set of rules is to infer the type of asymmetry
ΨG1L−2R=CCTG1L−CCTG2R (2)
based on the indicators defined in the previous
and sections. The type of asymmetry is an input for the
second set of rules, where the goal is to provide the
ΨG2L−1R=CCTG2L−CCTG1R (3)
user with a clear indication of any incorrect settings
To simplify the notation in the analysis presented in the chargers or burners.
Rotter figs 18.pdf 1 24/05/2013 14:35:05

in the next section, two other indicators for a pair of The input to the first system is based on a sequence
consecutive reversals are defined: a cross indicator of several reversals. In Table 1 the set of rules A from

{
for a side where firing has just stopped: Figure 18 is presented and in Table 2 the set of rules
B. The next section includes a practical example of
ΨG1L−2R if firing has finished for the left hand
side at the1st reversal and the right the analysis of firing symmetry.
hand side at the 2nd reversal
'Ψ G = (4) set of rules A set of rules B
indicators types of
Ψ 2L−1R detection of inferences about conclusion about
G if firing has finished for the left hand asymmetry type asymmetry settings charger/burner settings
side at the 2nd reversal and the right
hand side at the 1st reversal
Figure 18. Proposed inference scheme

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P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process
Rotter figs 19.pdf 1 24/05/2013 16:37:34
Table 2. Inferences about the setting of chargers and burners based on types of asymmetry detected
Symbol A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 Conclusion about charger/burner settings
B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Correct settings
B2 × 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Asymmetric charging – more batch is being charged to the right
B3 0 × 0 1 0 0 0 0 Asymmetric charging – more batch is being charged to the left
B4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Incorrect direction of charging – more batch charged to the right hand
side, then moving to the left
B5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Incorrect direction of charging – more batch charged to the left hand
side, then moving to the right
B6 × × × × 1 0 0 1 The right hand burner is heating more strongly than the left
B7 × × × × 0 1 1 0 The left hand burner is heating more strongly than the right
B8 × × × × 1 0 1 0 The left hand side is being heated more strongly than the right due to
asymmetrical flame direction
B9 × × × × 0 1 0 1 The right hand side is being heated more strongly than the right due to
asymmetrical flame direction

Notation: (a)

Φnk batch asymmetry indicator (1) for n-th zone

and k-th reversal
∆Φ1 a threshold for the batch asymmetry indicator
in zone Z1
∆Φ2 a threshold for the batch asymmetry indicator
in zone Z2
'Ψ G cross indicator for fired sides (4)
'⁄ ΨG cross indicator for non-fired sides (5)
∆ 'Ψ a threshold for the cross indicator for fired
sides
∆'⁄ Ψ a threshold for the cross indicator for non-fired
(b)
sides

6. An example of the analysis of melting

symmetry
This section presents an example of the use of the
method presented in earlier sections on real data.
The input images come from the Orzesze glassworks
over five consecutive reversals. The data is available
C

in 15-bit colour representation. This low colour reso-

M

lution causes difficulties for the visual estimation of

Y

temperature distribution by a human using the CCT

CM

image (Figure 19) but it is sufficient for the automatic Figure 19. An image from the furnace and the correspond-
analysis of the symmetry of the process based on the
MY ing CCT distribution. 15-bit representation of colour
method proposed in this article. CY
implies a high level of noise in the CCT image but it is
Table 3 presents the differences between the mean sufficient for the automatic analysis of firing symmetry
[Colour available online]
CMY

CCTs of the left and the right hand sides of the fur-
K

nace. At each reversal, the temperature on the side

where firing has just ended is greater than on the
opposite side, which is normal and does not indicate
an imbalance in the process. The differences in the
absolute values of the numbers in the last column of
the table may be the result of irregular working of
the furnace, e.g. irregular batch charging. In the next
Table 3. Differences in the mean temperatures of the left
and right hand sides of the furnace
Reversal Furnace side that CCTGL−CCTGR Φ 1 Φ2
has been fired
Rev 1 Right −18·5  0·12321  0·10764
Rev 2 Left  19·5 −0·11862 −0·065032
Rev3 Right  −5·5  0·07287  0·032842
Rev 4 Left  20 −0·049864  0·02812
Rev 5 Right −11  0·12551  0·19636
two columns are the batch asymmetry indicators for
zones Z1 and Z2. It can be observed that, after firing
on the right hand side, more batch is located on the
left (positive values for Φ1 and Φ2) and vice versa
(with one exception, where Φ2 has a small positive
value). This is the result of more intensive melting on
the fired side and is not related to irregular working
of the chargers.
Table 4 presents the indicators that are the input
for the rules defined in Section 5: the mean values for
batch asymmetry indicators and cross indicators of
temperature asymmetry ΨG. The blue fields (candle
symbol with a strikethrough, '⁄ ) are related to the
juxtapositions of the sides just before firing, the red
fields (candle symbol without a strikethrough, ') – to

128 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

Table 4. Cross indicators of temperature asymmetry (In colour on-line) [Colour available online]
Pair of reversals mean(Φ1k, Φ1k+1) (Φ2k, Φ2k+1) ΨG1L−2R ΨG2L−1R 'Ψ G '⁄ Ψ G

Rev 1 − Rev 2  0·002295  0·021304 '⁄ 2·5 '−1·5 −1·5 2·5

Rev 2 − Rev 3 −0·022875 −0·0161 '−14 '⁄ 28 −14 28
Rev 3 − Rev 4  0·011503  0·030481 '⁄ 32 '−17·5 −17·5 32
Rev 4 − Rev 5  0·037823  0·11224 '−16 '⁄ 25 −16 25

the juxtapositions of the sides just after firing.
Despite the high level of noise in the temperature
images caused by low colour representation, the
analysis of indicators from Table 4 allows inferences
to be made about the symmetry of the process:
(a) The values of batch asymmetry indicators from
consecutive reversals compensate, especially for
the first zone, and their mean values are small.
Moreover, they are of different signs, so the
conditions for rules A1–A4 are false regardless
of the threshold.
(b) In juxtapositions of sides where firing has just
stopped (indicator 'ΨG) the right side is always
warmer than the left side (negative indicator
value). It can be deduced that the right hand
burners heat the right hand side more strongly
than the left burners heat the left hand side (rule
A8).
Rotter figs 20.pdf 1 24/05/2013 14:34:34
(c) In juxtapositions of sides before firing (indicator
'⁄ ΨG) the left hand side is always warmer than
the right hand side (positive indicator value).
It can be deduced that the right hand burners
heat the left hand side more strongly than the
left hand burners heat the right hand side – rule
A5. (This observation could also mean that the
right hand side cools more quickly than the left
hand side but, due to the similar properties of
the walls and a similar outside temperature,
this hypothesis can be rejected).
Based on the simultaneous occurrence of (b) and
(c) it can be assumed that the right hand burners
heat more strongly than the left hand burners (rule
B6). Indeed, further analysis confirms that the mean
temperature of the intersection of the areas of glass
symmetry after firing of the right hand burners are
on average 17°C greater than after burning of the
left hand burners. This conclusion may be confirmed
through a visual comparison of the cross images of
temperatures, shown in Figure 21. Despite the high
level of noise, the right hand side is warmer in the im-
ages of fired sides, while the left hand side is warmer
in the other images.
7. Conclusions and future work
In the article a method is proposed for the automatic
analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process
based on images from a camera inside the glass
furnace chamber. The algorithm makes inferences
about the asymmetry of chargers and burners from
the distribution of the batch on the glass surface and
the distribution of correlated colour temperature. The
proposed method indicates the reasons for any asym-
metry, for example an asymmetry in heating power
from the burners or asymmetrical directionality.
The first prototype of the system, which was used

Reversal R1 – after Reversal R2 – after Reversal R3 – after Reversal R4 – after Reversal R5 – after

the right hand side has the left hand side has the right hand side has the left hand side has the right hand side has

been fired. been fired. been fired. been fired. been fired.

Figure 20. Images of five consecutive reversals and the corresponding temperature maps [Colour available online]

Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013 129
 P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process

Pairs of Juxtaposition 1L+2R Juxtaposition 2L+1R

reversals (left hand side at the first reversal + right (left hand side at the second reversal + right

hand side at the second reversal) hand side at the first reversal)

R1+R2 before firing after firing

R2+R3 after firing before firing

CM

MY

CY

CMY R3+R4 before firing after firing

K

R4+R5 after firing before firing

Figure 21. Juxtaposition of temperature images for four consecutive pairs of reversals [Colour available online]

in the experiments described in this article, was devel-
oped in Matlab and Python, including the libraries:
OpenCV, numpy and matplotlib.
Our experiments have demonstrated that the sys-
tem has the potential to be very useful for glassworks,
although it requires long-term testing before it could
be fully trusted and especially before it could be used
to control the process in a closed loop. The parameters
in the algorithms, especially the thresholds defined
in Section 5, can be set precisely only after long term
observation of a particular system.
A commercial version of this system is currently
implemented by Techglass Ltd4 at the following glass-
works: Warta Glass Jedlice SA, Huta Szkla Orzesze
and Stolzle Czestochowa Sp. z o.o. It is expected that
ongoing feedback from users will help to tune the
4 http://www.techglass.pl/glowna/en/

130 Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
P. Rotter & A. Skowiniak: Image-based analysis of the symmetry of the glass melting process
parameters, and perhaps also modify the rules in the
inference module. At this early stage the presented
system should be considered as providing recom-
mendations rather than as a fully automatic control
system, because incorrect parameter setting for the
process may result in very high costs. The recom-
mendations from the rule-based system should be
verified by a specialist every time. A specialist can-
not detect asymmetries as precisely as the proposed
algorithm, but can prevent erroneous commands
from being executed. Glass melting is a long term
process and at least several months of testing and
tuning parameters will be needed before the system
can be used to control the process in a closed loop.
8. Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the employees of
Techglass Ltd for their help in the acquisition of test
images and their helpful comments. We also thank
the boards of the following glassworks: Warta Glass
Jedlice SA, Huta Szkla Orzesze oraz Stolzle Czesto-
chowa Sp. z o.o. for allowing us access to their instal-
lations and to Dr. Marcin Nowak, who is currently
working on the adaptation of the prototype to the
industrial environment. The project was partially
supported by the European Union within European
Social Fund and Malopolska Regional Development
Agency.
Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A Volume 54 Number 3 June 2013
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