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Development of new and novel glasses to meet specific property requirements

Composition modification (including colour, viscosity, density)

Trial melts for raw material assessment

Compositional advice and consultancy

Refractory corrosion / stability testing

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Pilot scale trials

Thermal analysis

Glass Technology Services Ltd
Sheffield
Tel: +44 (0)114 290 1801
Fax: +44 (0)114 290 1851
Email: info@glass-ts.com

Thermal analysis

Thermal analysis can be used to determine a number of physical properties for glass, based on its behaviour as it is heated or cooled. It is vitally important when solving production problems, troubleshooting, developing new products or improving existing products. It impacts on all aspects of glass technology.
When most materials are heated up or cooled down, they expand or contract.

The amount of expansion or shrinkage is dependent on the chemical and physical characteristics of the material itself. It is often very important to match the thermal expansion behaviour of different materials which are in contact with one another, in order to avoid unwanted stresses and possible cracking.
It is equally important to combine measurements of properties with an understanding of the process itself, expertise which is offered by GTS. 

The usefulness of thermal analysis come from a number of projects carried out by GTS for commercial customers. These projects have involved tailoring a glass composition to give specific properties. Measurement of the Littleton Softening Point and the High Temperature Viscosity is vital in matching the properties of the glass with those required by the customer. If the glass is too viscous or too fluid at a given temperature this can have serious consequences for the processing of the glass.

Thermal Analysis techniques available from GTS are as follows: (click on the link to view a datasheet on each topic)

PDF's

Dilatometry - For thermal expansion, glass transition values

Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) - For batch reactions, phase changes, glass transition values

Littleton Softening Point - For ASTM standard method C338 and equivalents

Liquidus Temperature - For crystallisation behaviour of glasses and ceramics

High Temperature Viscosity - For measurement of the viscosity-temperature curve

High Temperature Electrical Measurements - For resistivity or conductivity of glasses at ambient and elevated temperatures