LECTURE-05: GLASS AND

CERAMIC PRODUCTS

DR. NIKHIL R. DHAR

Professor, IPE Department
BUET
Glass
Glass is a manufactured material formed when a mixture of sand, soda, and
lime is heated to a high temperature and assumes a molten, or liquid, state.
General Properties of Glass
Amorphous Solid
No definite melting point
Very brittle
Softens on heating
Can absorb, reflect and transmit light
Good electrical insulator
Affected by alkalis
Not affected by air, water, acid or chemical reagents.
Possesses high compressive strength and since it doesn’t have any
crystalline structure , no slippage between planes can occur
Light in weight because it has homogeneous internal structure similar to
liquids
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/2
Raw Materials of Glass

Sodium
Others, (Na), 14
Potassiu
2.7 m (K),
0.3
Calcium
(Ca), 9

Silica, 70
Barium
(Ba), 4

Sodium (Na) Potassium (K)

Calcium (Ca) Barium (Ba)

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/3
How to Manufacture Glass?
In glass manufacturing process there are five stages are involved they are-
Raw Material Preparation
Batch Mixing
Melting and Refining
Glass Forming
Annealing
Raw Materials Preparation: The first stage of the glass manufacturing
process is raw material preparation, first select the suitable raw material
depending upon the types of glass that will be manufactured. Silica (SiO2) is
natural quartz in the sand and is used as the primary source for preparing
glasses. The sand is must be washed properly to remove impurities which
may cause undesirable coloring of the glass. The sand is classified according
to grain sizes. The most desirable particle size for glassmaking is in the
range of 0.1 to 0.5 mm.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/4
Batch Mixing Processes: The second stage of glass manufacturing process is
batch mixing, in this process, the raw material is finely powdered by the help
of a grinding machine. And this process includes formers, fluxes, stabilizers
and sometimes colorants according to the color required for the final product
of the glasses. The materials are accurately weighed in correct proportions
before they are mixed together. The fine raw materials are subsequently
mixed with each other to achieve a homogenous composition after the
mixing process is completed they are transferred into the melting furnace.
Melting and Refining: The third stage of the glass manufacturing process is
melting the mixed raw material in a furnace with the desired temperature.
Glass is produced by heating the raw materials to an elevated temperature
above which melting occurs (around 1500°C to 1600°C). The processing
time took around 30 to 40 hours per charge. Homogeneity can be achieved
by complete the melting and mixing of the raw ingredients. There are two
types of furnace is generally used (i) Pot furnace and (ii) Tank furnace.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/5
 Pot Furnace: A pot is a vessel made of fire-clay. This process resembles
the crucible steel process. These pots are placed in specially prepared
holes in the furnace. The charging and collecting doors are kept
projecting outside so that raw materials may be added and molten glass
may be taken out conveniently. The pots are filled with raw materials.
Tank Furnace: It is constructed with reinforced masonry. The roof is
given special shape to deflect the flames of heated gas. The ports are
provided for the entry of preheated producer gas. The doors are provided
for charging and for taking out the molten glass. A bridge separates the
tank into two unequal compartments.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/6
Glass Forming Processes
There are six different forming shaping methods are used to fabricate glass
products-
Pressing
Spinning
Blowing
Casting
Drawing
Fiber forming

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/7
Pressing: Pressing is used in the fabrication of relatively thick-walled pieces
like that plates and dishes. The glass piece is generally formed by pressure
application in a graphite-coated cast iron mold having the desired shape; the
mold is ordinarily heated to ensure an even surface.
Uses: Mass production of glass pieces such as kitchen wares, headlight
lenses, TV tube faceplates, and similar items are generally manufactured by
pressing.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/8
Spinning: Spinning is similar to the centrifugal casting of metals. In glass-
working, the term spinning replaces the conventional term of centrifugal
casting. A gob of molten glass in a specified quantity is dropped in a conical
mould. The mould is rotated at high speed casting centrifugal force forcing
the molten glass to spread upward on the mold surface.
Uses: The method is used to produce a funnel-shaped component such as the
back sections of cathode-ray tubes for televisions and computer monitors,
solidification progresses from the outer surface.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/9
Blowing: Glass blowing is a process to shape glass. Altho originally glass
blowing used to be performed by hand, especially for art objects. Blow
forming sequence: (1) gob is fed into inverted mold cavity; (2) mold is
covered; (3) first blowing step; (4) partially formed piece is reoriented and
transferred to second blow mold, and (5) blown to final shape
Uses: The process has now been completely automated for the production of
glass jars, bottles, and light bulbs which are produced in huge quantities.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/10
 Casting: Casting is the method in which the molten glass when sufficiently
fluid, is poured into a mold. These pieces must be cooled very slowly to
avoid internal stresses and possible cracking due to temperature gradients
that would otherwise be set up in the glass. After cooling and solidifying, the
pieces must be finished by lapping and polishing. Casting is generally not
much uses in glass working except for these kinds of special jobs.
Uses: This process is relatively massive objects, such as astronomical lenses
and mirrors, are made by this method.
Drawing: Drawing is an automatic process is the most practical system for
the production of glass tubes with diameters from 5 to 50 mm having thin
walls. On such process by which a glass tube is formed is known as the
Danner process.
Uses: Drawing is used to form long glass pieces in the form of sheet, rod,
tubing, and fiber, having a constant cross-section.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/11
 Fiber Forming: Fibers or filaments of glasses
can be formed by drawing strands of molten
glass through small apertures. Fibers of glass
consist of numerous extremely fine fibers.
Uses: Glass fiber is used to make fiberglass
cloth for use in reinforcing composite materials,
such as e-glass fiberglass cloth. Heavier,
stronger s-glass grade fiberglass cloth is used
when higher tensile strength is required.
Fiberglass cloth is commonly used with epoxies
and resins to make stiff, high strength
composites.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/12
Annealing: The last stage of the glass manufacturing process is annealing.
In the time of glass forming, some air are mixed up with glass gob in the
form of an air bubble. So annealing is employed to remove them.
In this process, heating the glass to a particular temperature, keeping it there
for a certain amount of time and cooling it slowly in order to remove
residual internal stresses introduced during manufacture.
The annealing of glass is a very important process because If glass particles
are allowed to cool down rapidly, the superficial layer of the glass cools
down first as glass is a bad conductor of heat. The interior portion remains
comparatively hot and it is therefore in a state of strain. Hence, such glass
particles break to pieces under very slight shocks or disturbances.
After the glass manufacturing is completed it is inspected by the help of an
automatically processes using the electronic sensors.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/13
Types of Glass
There are many different types of glasses with varied chemical and physical
properties. A suitable adjustment of chemical compositions brings specific
characteristics of the glass.
Commercial Glass: Commercial glass, also known as soda-lime glass is
utilized in daily lives. The use is seen in the form of bottles and jars, flat
glass for windows or for drinking glasses. Lime glasses are made by
fusing together sand, lime or limestone, and soda-ash. Sand by itself is
fused to produce glass but the temperature at which this can be achieved
is about 1700°C. The melting temperature can suitably be reduced by
adding other minerals and chemicals to sand.
High Silica Glasses: High silica glasses(containing 96% silica) are
mainly used where high-temperature resistance is required, and they can
be used regularly at temperatures up to about 900°C. High silica glasses
have a very low thermal expansion coefficient that accounts for their
high resistance to thermal shock.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/14
 Lead Glass: Lead glass, commonly known as the lead crystal is used to
make a variety of decorative glass objects like tableware, optical
purposes, neon sign tubing, and art objects because of their high luster.
For windows and shields to protest personnel from X-ray radiation. It
contains lead oxide instead of calcium oxide and potassium oxide instead
of sodium oxide. Lead glasses have a low melting point, but they exhibit
good hot workability, high electrical resistivity and high refractory
indices.
Borosilicate Glass: In borosilicate glasses, a part of silica is replaced by
boric oxide which confers certain desirable properties to glasses such as
thermal shock, electrical shock, and chemical stability, and it does not
crack in temperature variation like other types of glasses. It is widely
accepted in chemical industries, for making laboratory apparatus,
ampoules, and pharmaceutical containers.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/15
 Colored Glasses: Sometimes various substances are added to the glass
fusion to obtain colored glasses. Thus, for instance, chromic
oxide(Cr2O3) gives the glass a green color; manganese dioxide, a
reddish-purple color; cobaltous oxide, a blue color, etc. In most cases,
the color of the glass depends on the formation of colored silicates of
iron, manganese, cobalt, etc.
Recrystallized Glasses: Recrystallized Glass, also known as
polycrystalline glass, is commonly produced by adding nucleating agents
such as sodium fluoride, phosphorous pentoxide, titanium oxide or
vanadium oxide into the molten glass. The glass is then formed by any of
the conventional glass-forming processes and is then heat-treated to
promote crystallization. Such glasses possess high hardness and impact
strength and better thermal stability compared to ordinary glasses. The
application of these glasses is in the manufacture of the so-called
refrigerator-to oven cooking dishes.
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/16
 Fiber Glasses: Fiber glass, commonly known as glass fiber, is glass in
fiber form. molten glass can be drawn through dies into fibers 2 to 10
micrometer in diameter, and is then known as fiber glass. This is not
brittle as compare to ordinary glass and possesses high tensile strength.
Unlike normal glass, glass fibers are almost free from surface defects
and thus crack propagation under tensile loads is kept to a minimum.
Glass Wools: Glass wools are produced by a process totally different
from that of glass fiber. The molten glass is forced through some vents in
the process called as a crown process by centrifugal force, forming
relatively short fibers of about 0.007 mm in diameter. These are suitable
for insulation.
Foam Glasses: The foam glasses can make by introducing innumerable
air cells or pores into molten glass. This on cooling becomes quite light.
In fact, it floats in water as it is lighter than even cork. It is cut into
required sizes and then used as heat insulating material.

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/17
Ceramics
Classification of ceramics
Ceramics

Glasses Clay Products Refractories Abrasives Cements Advanced

Ceramics
- optical -whiteware -bricks for -sandpaper -composites engine
- composite - bricks high Temp. - cutting - structural - rotors
reinforce (furnaces) - polishing - valves
- containers/ Al2O3-SiO2 SiC - bearings
- household
ZrO2 BN
-sensors
Al2O3 WC
Si3N4
Diamond
ZrO2
Al2O3
AlN

Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/18
General properties of ceramics
Hard and high wear resistance
Brittle and high compressive strength
High elastic modulus
High temperature resistance
Good creep resistance
Low conductivity and low thermal expansion
Good chemical inertness
Common ceramics
Oxides : Al2O3, ZrO2
Nitrides : AlN, Si3N4, BN, TiN
Carbides : WC, SiC, TiC, TaC
Glasses : SiO2 + others
Carbon : Graphite, Diamond
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/19
Whiteware Ceramics
Clay: Quartz and Feldspar
Processing
Water addition, mixing
Air removal
Shaping
Drying
Coating
Firing
Products
Brick and structural tile
Drain and sewer pipe
Decorative applications
Bath and kitchen structures
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/20
Glass Ceramics
Crystalline solid
0.1 to 1.0 micron grains
Use of nucleating agents
Glass ceramic
Efficient processing in glassy state
Net shape process
Good mechanical properties versus glass
Low porosity
Low thermal expansion
Higher resistance to thermal shock
Products
Cookware
Heat exchangers
Missile radomes
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/21
Cermets
Combination of metals and ceramics
Cemented carbides
Bound with high temperature metal
Properties
High hardness and temperature resistance
Improved toughness and strength
Improved shock resistance
Applications
Crucibles and Jet nozzles
High temperature brakes
Production
WC-Co
Press powder in metal mold
Sintering in controlled atmosphere
Dr. N.R. Dhar, Professor & Head, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET 240/22