Containerless processing of fluoride glass

Abstract

Ground-based experiments on glass formation, crystallization, surface tension, vaporization, and chemical durability of a zirconium-barium-lanthanum (ZBL) fluoride glass are summarized. In a container large, columnar grains grew out from the container-glass interface during cooling. The main crystalline phase was alpha BaZrF6. A ZBL glass sphere was levitated acoustically during Shuttle flight STS-11. The glass was melted and then cooled while being levitated (containerless). Crystallization in the recovered sample was very fine and mainly beta BaZr2F10, showing the influence of the container on the nucleation and microstructure of crystallization in the glass. Glass formation should be easier for a containerless glass than in a container.