Kinetic Processes Involved in the Sintering and Crystallization of Glass Powders

Viscometry, crystal growth kinetics, and glass powder sintering were used to determine the activation energies of viscous flow, crystal growth, and sintering behavior of a standard NBS 710 glass and two crystallizable glass powders in the calciaaluminosilicate system. In a system which sintered successfully to zero porosity, the activation energy for sintering was comparable to the activation energy of viscous flow. When the apparent activation energy for the sintering process was lower than that of viscous flow, sintering was found to proceed at a slower rate because the precipitated crystalline phase retarded viscous flow and the shrinkage of the pores. Initial crystallization appeared to occur on the surfaces of coalesced particles. A chemical treatment was partially successful in suppressing the onset of surface nucleation of the precursor powder.