Glass Fiber Industry Research Articles

Molecular dynamics simulations study on structure and properties of CaO–MgO–B2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 glasses with different B2O3/MgO

CaO–MgO–B2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 glasses are of great important in glass fiber industry. In this work, the structures, thermal stabilities, and elastic moduli of the glasses are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by gradual substitution between B2O3 and MgO. The results show that with the increase of the ratios of B2O3/MgO, aluminum shows complex coordination changes, but the four-coordination aluminum is still the dominating specie. The boron coordination environment does not change significantly with the substitution and the three-coordination boron keeps staying at a high level. The percentages of bridge oxygen and network connectivity (NC) in the glasses increase with the increase of B2O3/MgO ratios, which enhances the glass network and improve the thermal stabilities. The elastic moduli calculated from simulations are in good agreement with the experiments. The study shows that high content of Mg2+ can increase atomic packing density. The introduction of boron brings more [BO3] structures, which further weakens the stiffness of the glass network. Insights of the effect of B2O3/MgO ratios on the structures and properties will facilitate the development of high-performance glass fibers.

Development and Prospect of High Performance Polymer Composites in China

High performance polymer composites have become an indispensable strategic material for national defense and economic development due to their excellent comprehensive properties. They have broad prospects for development since they have been widely applied in various fields such as aerospace, wind power generation, rail transit, and automobile. The macro development demand of China for high performance polymer composites is analyzed in this paper. The current status and characteristics of fiber reinforcement such as carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and high performance glass fiber as well as polymer resin matrix materials such as epoxy, phenolic resin, and special resin is reviewed. The existing problems and developing objective are also proposed. Specifically, an industrialization system including key technology research and engineering application for the carbon fiber has been established, allowing the carbon fiber industry to develop toward high performance and low cost. The industrial production of para-aramid fiber is preliminarily realized and the glass fiber industry has maintained a stable growth. However, the resin matrix materials for high performance polymer composites face a severe situation. Furthermore, suggestions are proposed based on the demand of development from the viewpoint of independent innovation, demand orientation, construction of industrial chain, personnel training, and industrial innovation, hoping to provide an effective reference for the development of high performance polymer composites in China.

Specific Biomaterials Used within the Department of Anatomy

As one of our main topics of interest within the Department of Anatomy, the usage of biomaterials involved two directions: preparation of anatomical casts by injection and corrosion and preservation of anatomical samples through plastination. For injection we used several substances, such as polyvinyl chloride, with the solvent cyclohexanone, a polyester oil used in furnishing and glass fiber industry and mostly TECHNOVIT 7143, of German production. Another preservation method that includes the usage of biopolymers is plastination, a perfect method for the preservation of perishable biological specimens, especially for soft, putrifiable ones with high water content. The method we applied is the silicone plastination (S10) that addresses to macroscopical samples, such as internal organs (hearts, kidneys) or slices of nervous tissue (brain slices) greater than 10 mm, samples resulted from the dissection process in the Anatomy Department.

Alkali activation of vitreous calcium aluminosilicate derived from glass fiber waste

The properties and microstructure of alkali-activated (AA) vitreous calcium aluminosilicate (VCAS) are presented in this paper. VCAS is manufactured from a by-product of the glass fiber industry and has been activated using NaOH and KOH solutions. The microstructure and mechanical properties of AA VCAS pastes and mortars are reported. The results show that depending on the type and concentration of hydroxide solution used, mortar samples with compressive strengths up to 77 MPa can be formed after curing for three days at 65 °C. The research demonstrates the potential of VCAS to produce AA cements and the importance of alkali type and concentration in optimizing properties and microstructure.

Influence of mass transfer on the ozonation of wastewater from the glass fiber industry

The mass transfer rate (kLa) is one of the most important parameters in the ozonation of wastewater, because it frequently constitutes the rate-determining step. This study investigated the influence of kLa on the ozonation of glass fiber wastewater using a high-performance jet loop reactor (HJLR), which is well known for its high mass transfer property, and compared the results of this investigation with those obtained using the bubble column reactor. It was found that the higher kLa achieved by increasing the energy input did not lead to higher ozonation efficiency, since the reaction involving the OH radical was greatly hindered at the low pH produced as a result of ozonation. By maintaining the pH at a value greater than 8.0, the higher kLa in the HJLR reactor contributed to increasing not only the TOC removal of wastewater, but also the ozone consumption efficiency, as expressed by the specific ozone consumption. The specific ozone consumption in the HJLR reactor (7.1 g ozone/ g TOC) was 20% better than that in the bubble column reactor.

Mechanization of Glass Manufacture

Mechanization of glass manufacture had just begun in 1898 but was accelerating. Notable advances were soon to be made in all branches of the industry, many of them in the United States, and have continued to the present day. M. J. Owens occupies a unique position as the inventor of the first successful fully automatic container machine in 1903; he was also involved in several other important developments. However, within 20 years, machines fed with gobs supplied by the Peiler forehearth and gob feeder, also American inventions, became successful competitors. From about 1930 to 1960, a wide variety of machines was used to make containers, but these have been superseded nearly everywhere by the individual section machine, another American invention. The Lubbers process for sheet glass cylinders was an early success in 1903. About 12 years later the direct drawing of flat sheet was developed almost simultaneously by Fourcault in Belgium and Colburn in the United States. The Pittsburgh process followed a few years later. Ford was the first to succeed in making continuously cast plate, but Pilkington in the United Kingdom soon exploited that process to make much wider cast plate. At that time Pilkington also developed the simultaneous grinding of both faces of the continuous ribbon. The invention and development of float glass by Pilkington in the 1950s has made all other flat glass processes obsolete for most purposes. Owens‐Corning has played a major role in the glass‐fiber industry since its beginnings in the 1930s. The most important advance in manufacture of optical glass was the small continuous tank with vigorous stirring developed by Corning Glass Works. Corning also made other notable advances, such as the ribbon machine for lamp bulbs and the lamination process used for Corelle ware.

Improved Dispersion of Silicon Nitride Whiskers

ABSTRACTTo improve the dispersion of silicon nitride whiskers in aqueous suspensions, a standard dispersant used in glass fiber industry, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) is added. It was found that the viscosity of the whisker suspensions is lowered and the centrifuged density of the suspensions is increased with the addition of the APS. The pH values of suspensions before and after the addition of APS indicate that APS extracts H+ ions from the solutions and the adsorption of APS on silicon nitride is saturated in our experiment. Our results indicate a colloidal route to the processing of ceramic composites with silicon nitride whiskers as reinforcements.

Characterization of glass surfaces by electron spectroscopy

Commercial glasses typically consist of many metal oxides and the surface composition of a glass article can be very different from that of its interior due to vaporization, surface migration, etc., during fabrication. At the same time the chemical make-up of the surface is extremely important in any commercial application, directly affecting the strength and durability of the product. Analytical techniques capable of examining the surface composition have been limited, however, and classical methods of chemical analysis have never been able to supply the desired information. This paper contains a review of analytical procedures that have been used for glass surface analysis and explores the potential of several recently developed techniques. These include the Electron Microprobe, Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA), Auger Electron Spectroscopy, Ion Scattering Spectroscopy and Secondary Ion Mass Analysis. The use of Electron Spectroscopy in the study of glass compositions common to the glass fiber industry will be explored in depth.