Glass forming ability of calcium aluminosilicate melts

The glass forming ability (GFA) of two series of calcium aluminosilicate melts is studied by measuring their viscous behavior and crystallization tendency. The first series consists of five compositions on the joining line between the eutectic point of anorthite-wollastonite-tridymite and that of anorthite-wollastonite-gehlenite. The series includes the eutectic compositions as end members. The second series consists of five compositions on a line parallel to the joining line on the alumina rich side. In the present work, GFA is described in terms of glass stability, i.e., the ability of a glass to resist crystallization during reheating. In addition, the fragility index (m) is derived by fitting the viscosity data with the Avramov-Milchev equation. The results show that m is inversely proportional to the glass stability for the two series of melts, implying that m is an indirect measure of GFA. However, this proportionality is only valid for comparison of the glasses in the same series of compositions. The eutectic composition of anorthite-wollastonite-tridymite is found to exhibit the highest GFA of the melts under investigation.