MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO (R2O) GLASS CERAMICS IN THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS NUCLEATING AGENTS

The application of inexpensive materials such as copper, zinc, lead, iron and steel slag in manufacturing of glass and glass-ceramic products in construction industry, lining materials as anti-corrosion and anti-abrasion coatings in metals and etc, has led to considerable progress in glass technology in recent years. The composition of slag glass-ceramics is mainly located in the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO system, in which one of the most important problems is the lack of bulk crystallization. To resolve the above-mentioned problem, the crystallization behavior of various compositions containing different nucleating agents Cr2O3 , Fe2O3 and TiO2 in the single, double and triple forms were studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA).The precipitated crystalline phases was determined by the X-ray diffractometry and the micro-structural analysis was studies using the SEM micrographs. The three point bending strength, micro-hardness and the chemical resistance of the best composition were determined. According to the results, the resulted glassceramic had a better specification than the stoneware floor tiles and the porcelain one, which are considered as the two important competitors for it.