A model to calculate the viscosity of silicate melts

Abstract

Abstract Our recently developed model for the viscosity of silicate melts is extended to describe and predict the viscosities of oxide melts containing boron. The model requires three adjustable parameters to reproduce the viscosity of B2O3–SiO2 melts and two parameters for each B2O3–MO x melt, where MO x is a basic oxide other than an alkali oxide. All available experimental data have been collected for binary melts formed by B2O3 with SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, ZnO, PbO to calibrate the model. The viscosities of the B2O3-containing ternary and higher-order subsystems of the B2O3–CaO–MgO–PbO–ZnO–SiO2 system and of the B2O3–CaO–MgO–PbO–ZnO–Al2O3 system are then predicted by the model without any additional adjustable parameters. Experimental data were found for only five such subsystems: B2O3–PbO–SiO2, B2O3–CaO–SiO2, B2O3–PbO–ZnO, B2O3–PbO–Al2O3 and B2O3–CaO–Al2O3. Predictions of the model are compared to these experimental data.