Influence of alumina content and modifiers on phase separation in soda-lime-silica glass

Abstract

The phase Separation behaviour of industrial soda-lime-silica glass is studied by visible light scattering. The main aspects which differentiate industrial glass from the ternary glass (composition in wt%): 76 SiO₂, 13 Na₂O, 11 CaO are considered. The obtained results show that the simple ternary glass easily develops phase Separation upon annealing at suitable temperature levels. Conversely, Container glass is stabilized against demixtion by the presence of a significant AI₂O₃ concentration, a significantly lower SiO₂ content and a more complex chemical formulation (partial Substitution of SiO₂, Na₂O and CaO with AI₂O₃, K₂O and MgO, respectively, as well as minor ingredients).