Effect of Auxiliaries on Pore Structure of Foam Glass

Abstract

In this paper, foam glass as thermal insulation material was prepared from alkali-free glass powder, and silicon carbide was used as foaming agent in the process. The effect of silicon carbide and sodium carbonate was investigated. Thermal performance of the batch was investigated by using the TG/DSC simultaneous thermal analyzer. The morphology of the glass foams was evaluated by the scanning electron microscopy. The phase of the sample was studied through X-ray diffraction, and chemical composition of the samples was estimated by using X-ray fluorescence spectrum. The results show that, the pore diameter of sample increases gradually at first and then stabilizes with the increasement of silicon carbide. Sodium carbonate not only improves the foaming ability by reducing the glass viscosity but also influences the crystallization of the sample. The bulk density and compressive strength are decreasing while the content of sodium carbonate increasing.