Glass forming ability and thermal stability of F-phlogopite based glasses

This paper presents the results of a study that analyses the effect of fluorine content on glass forming ability (GFA), glass stability (GS) and preferred crystallisation mechanism for a series of glasses in the SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-K2O-F system. Three glass compositions, with fluorine contents ranging from 4.50 to 5.70 wt. %, were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The GS was established by estimating different parameters derived from characteristic temperatures of non-isothermal DSC curves, namely, the working range (TTS), reduced glass transition temperature (Tgr), Weinberg (Kw), Hrubÿ (KH) and Lu-Liu (KLL) parameters. The prevalent crystallisation mechanism for each glass was assessed by determining the dissimilarity in crystallisation temperature (Tp) between fine ( 120°C/min) and obtaining amorphous glasses is only possible by fast cooling of the melt. In a subsequent thermal treatment, a volume crystallization mechanism will be prevalent in the process of devitrification of these F-phlogopite based glasses. Nevertheless, the increasing on the fluorine content in the glass composition leads to a variation in the location of the first developed crystals from the internal volume of the glass particle to surface sites. The results established by DSC analyses are verified by the results obtained from field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).R. Casasola and J. M. Pérez express their gratitude to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for their contract through the JAE Program (JAEPre-08-00456 and JAEDoc-08-00362, respectively), which is co-financed by the European Social Fund. The financial support through the projects MAT 2006-05977 and MAT2013-40477-P is also recognised.Peer reviewe

Glass-ceramic glazes for ceramic tiles – a review

Glass-ceramics are ceramic materials produced through controlled crystallisation (nucleation and crystal growth) of a parent glass. The great variety of compositions and the possibility of developing special microstructures with specific technological properties have allowed glass-ceramic materials to be used in a wide range of applications. One field for which glass-ceramics have been developed over the past two decades is that of glazes for ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles are the most common building material for floor and wall coverings in Mediterranean countries. Glazed tiles are produced from frits (glasses quenched in water) applied on the surface of green tiles and subjected to a firing process. In the 1990s, there was growing interest in the development of frits that are able to crystallise on firing because of the need for improvement in the mechanical and chemical properties of glazed tiles. This review offers an extensive evaluation of the research carried out on glass-ceramic glazes used for covering and pavement ceramic tile is accomplished. The main crystalline phases (silicates and oxides) developed in glass-ceramic glazes have been considered. In addition, a section focused on glazes with specific functionality (photocatalytic, antibacterial and antifungal activity, or aesthetic superficial effects) is also included.CSIC through the JAE Program (JAE Pre_08_00456). Financial support through the Education and Science Spanish Ministry through theproject MAT2006-05977Peer reviewe

Study of mullite formation in porcelain stoneware applying isoconversional and IKP methods

The growth process of mullite in a porcelain stoneware body has been studied under isoconversional, isokinetic relationship and invariant kinetic parameters. Activation energy for mullite crystallisation of over 589–628 kJ mol−1 and a Ln A over 50–59 min−1 was obtained. The model was Johnson–Melh–Avrami with n = 1.5. The model chosen implies quick nucleation and subsequent one or three-dimensional growth. Isoconversional methods show an independent activation energy variation in mid range conversion degrees. Lower and higher conversion degrees show different reactions in mullite formation. Results obtained with the methods employed here are in agreement with a previous paper where the Kissinger non-isothermal method and Ligero et al.approximation were appliedPeer reviewe

Development of a new glass–ceramic by means of controlled vitrification and crystallisation of inorganic wastes from urban incineration

This paper reports the results of a study of the feasibility of recycling the solid residues from domiciliary waste incineration by producing a glass-ceramic. The major components of the raw material (TIRME F+L), which was from a Spanish domiciliary incinerator, were CaO, SiO2 and Al2O3 but nucleating agents, such as TiO2, P2O5, and Fe2O3 were also present in reasonable amounts. It was found that a relatively stable glass with suitable viscosity could be obtained by mixing 65 wt% TIRME F+L with 35 wt% glass cullet. The heat treatment required to crystallise the glass produced from this mixture, designated TIR65, was nucleation at 560°C for 35 min followed by crystal growth at 100°C for 120 min. The resulting glass-ceramic contained a number of crystalline phases, the most stable being clinoenstatite (MgSiO3), or perhaps a pyroxenic phase which incorporates Ca, Mg and Al in its composition, and åkermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7). The microstructure contained both fibre-like and dendritic crystals. The mechanical properties were acceptable for applications such as tiles for the building industry.Peer reviewe

Effect of microstructure on mechanical properties of porcelain stoneware

This work examines the effect of microstructure (aspect ratio of mullite crystals and proportion of crystalline and amorphous phases) as well as different physical features (bulk density, closed and open porosity and absolute density) on the mechanical properties of a standard porcelain stoneware composition (50% kaolinitic clay, 40% feldspar and 10% quartz) fired in the 1200–1300 °C temperature interval using a fast firing schedule. The mechanical behaviour was evaluated in terms of bending strength, Vickers microhardness, fracture toughness and Young's modulus. After viewing the results, it can be concluded that increased σf, Hv and E values were mainly due to open porosity, percentage of mullite phase and morphology of secondary mullite needles, whereas closed porosity and quartz particles have no influence on these properties.This research was supported by the Spanish Science and Technology Ministry (Projects MAT2000-1422 and MAT2003-2915). The authors gratefully acknowledge Compañía Europea de Arcillas, S.A. for providing raw materials. The authors thank IRICA from University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) for experimental assistance.Peer reviewe

Nucleation and crystallisation kinetics of a Na-fluorrichterite based glass by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

The present paper shows the results of a nucleation and crystallisation study of a Na-fluorrichterite glass carried out by dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC). The kinetic study was performed using different procedures (Kissinger, Matusita–Sakka and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) methods), and the Avrami parameter was determined from the Ozawa and Malek approximations and the Malek equation. The results have indicated the coexistence of surface and bulk crystallisation in the devitrification process of the studied glass. The kinetic study has shown that the activation energy of the crystallisation process is over 400 kJ/mol and that the mechanism proposed is a Johnson–Mehl–Avrami mechanism with n equal to 3, which implies that the crystallisation develops through the three-dimensional growth of crystals. The study of the variation of the activation energy with crystallisation using the KAS method has shown that the crystallisation process undergoes a multiple step mechanism, where the main part of the whole process corresponds to the three-dimensional growth of crystals. The mechanism proposed was confirmed by applying the Pérez-Maqueda et al. criterion.The authors would like to acknowledge Mrs. P. Díaz for the technical support of the experimental work. R. Casasola and J.M. Pérez express their gratitude to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for their contract through the JAE Programme (JAEPre-08-00456 and JAEDoc-08-00362, respectively), co-financed by the European Social Fund.Peer reviewe

El Instituto Torroja a lo largo de su historia y la investigación en materiales vítreos y cerámicos

Publicado en: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio, 44(2): 131-134 (2005).[ES] El Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja (IETcc) desde su fundación no sólo ha realizado a lo largo de su ya larga historia investigaciones y valiosas aportaciones científicas y técnicas en el campo de los materiales cerámicos y vidrios, sino que además fue uno de los principales fundadores de la actual Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio (SECV) con la destacada participación de D. Francisco Arredondo y Verdú. En los últimos once años esta línea de investigación se ha visto reforzada con la creación del Grupo y Laboratorio de Materiales Vítreos y Cerámicos, por lo que se realiza una revisión de la relación de este centro con este tipo de materiales, recordándose los investigadores y publicaciones que más destacaron en este campo. Se realiza finalmente un análisis de la situación actual y de las perspectivas de I+D+i en este tipo de materiales de construcción, haciendo especial énfasis en sus aplicaciones en fachadas ventiladas y del factor dinamizador de la investigación científica que implicará el reto tecnológico de la aplicación de plaquetas cerámicas en este tipo de fachadas.[EN] Ever since its inception and throughout its history, the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science of the CSIC (IETcc, CSIC) has conducted research in and made valuable scientific and technical contributions to the area of ceramic and glassy materials, and played a key role in the founding of the present Spanish Ceramic and Glass Society (SECV), under the leadership of Francisco Arredondo y Verdú. The creation in recent years of the Glassy and Ceramic Materials Group and Laboratory has reinforced this line of research. The present paper reviews the effort deployed by the Institute in connection with this type of materials, with a tribute to some of the most prominent publications in the field and their authors. Finally, it has been carried out a discussion of the nowadays situation and future prospects onf R+D+I in this type of construction materials, giving emphasis into the uses in vent façades, as well as the dynamic factor over the scientific research implied from the technological challenge of ceramic tiles in this constructive systems.Peer reviewe

Valorisation of ilmenite mud waste in the manufacture of commercial ceramic

This paper reports the results of a study focused on the production of ceramic tiles from ilmenite mud (MUD), a waste generated by the industry devoted to the TiO2 pigment production. Ceramic tiles were produced from mixtures of a commercial red stoneware mixture (RSM) with different concentrations of mud (3, 5, 7, 10, 30 and 50 wt.%). The samples were sintered to simulate a fast-firing process. The sintering behaviour of the fired samples was evaluated according to ISO methodologies by linear shrinkage, water absorption and porosity measurements. Both green powder and fired samples were characterised by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC/TG), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and bending strength measurements. Moreover, since this activity is a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) industry, the radionuclides activity concentrations were measured by both gamma and alpha spectrometry techniques. Finally, the TCLP leaching test (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, USEPA) was performed to assess the risks of the use of undissolved mud tiles from an environmental perspective. The results obtained demonstrated that ilmenite mud can be successfully valorisated in the manufacture of red stoneware ceramic bodies, with even better technological properties than commercial ones. The addition of mud as additive (from 3% to 10%) had a beneficial effect to the sintering processes, improving the bending strength (up to 15%) and reducing both apparent porosity and water absorption (up to 50%).This research has been partially supported by the Government of Andalusiás Project “Characterization and modelling of the phosphogypsum stacks from Huelva for their environmental management and control” (Ref.: RNM-6300) and by National Institution of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Ecuador – (SENESCYT for its acronym in Spanish), Prometeo Project. Dr. M.I. Martín expresses her gratitude for the contract JAE-Doc_08-00032 to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), co-financed by the European Social Fund Operational Programme 2007–2013 Adaptability and Employment Multiregional.Peer reviewe

Technical characterization of sintered glass-ceramics derived from glass fibers recovered by pyrolysis

Sintered wollastonite-plagioclase glass-ceramics were prepared through crystallization of a parent glass generated by vitrification of pyrolysis residual glass fibers that had been pyrolytically recovered from waste composite materials. A vitrifiable mixture consisting of 95 wt.% glass fiber and 5 wt.% Na2O was melted at 1450ºC to obtain a glass frit. The glass-ceramic materials were produced by a sinter-crystallization process from the powdered glass frit. The effect of firing temperature on the properties of sintered glass-ceramics was investigated. The sintering behaviour of glass-ceramic tiles was evaluated by means of water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density. In addition, the mineralogical and microstructural characterization of these tiles was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results from experiments such as water absorption, bending strength, chemical resistance and stain resistance have shown that the developed glass-ceramic materials possess technological properties very suitable for architectural applications.Dr. M.I. Martín thanks the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), co-financed by the European Social Fund Operational Programme 2007-2013 Adaptability and Employment Multiregional, for the contract JAE-Doc_08-00032Peer reviewe