Viscous phase sintering of particle-reinforced glass matrix composites

The aim of this work is the optimization of the sintering process of particle-reinforced glass matrix composites to obtain densities as close as possible to the theoretical value and improved mechanical properties in comparison with the parent glass matrix. A pressureless sintering process has been studied by means of heating-microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and dilatometry on glass powders and mixtures of glass and reinforcement powders. The chosen glass matrix composites have the following compositions: (1) 5, 10 and 20 wt% Ti particle-reinforced ZnO-B2O3-PbO based glasses; and (2) 5, 10 and 20 wt% Ti particle-reinforced TiO2-ZnO-B2O3-PbO based glasses. These glasses are suitable as 'model' glasses, but the method can be extended to any other matrix.