Vol 72, No 9-10 (2016)

The results of research performed at the D. I. Mendeleev Russian Chemical Technology University on obtaining modern high-performance ceramic materials are presented. The technological particularities of creating modern building ceramic and bioactive materials based on hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate are examined. Citations to some publications by the departmental staff, primarily over the last few years, are presented. It is shown that the journal Steklo i Keramika is unique and plays a leading role in the dissemination of the results of research on the chemical technology of high-temperature functional materials for a wide range of applications, thereby promoting scientific advancement in Russia and abroad.

The regimes for recoloring glass melt in the commercial furnaces at the Chagodoshchenskii Glass Works and K JSC, which operate with slag batches, are analyzed. It is shown that the efficiency of the process of changing the color of the glass is determined by, first and foremost, the rational regime for changing the composition and redox potential of the batch.

The influence of the ambient environment on the state of the polished surface of optical glass is determined. It was found that the admissible storage times of polished optical articles prior to coating deposition or gluing is less than the value set by industry standards. A change in the storage conditions at a given limit of production can result in a change in the state of the polished surfaces of optical parts.

The use of high-alumina nanotechnogenic raw material as grog was found to be expedient for increasing the heat-resistance of clinker brick. As the content of aluminum oxide Al₂O₃ in a ceramic body compositions increases, the heat-resistance increases and the CLTE decreases when the clinker brick is fired (1250°C). For Al₂O₃ content in the ceramic body from 41 to 43% the heat-resistance of the clinker brick reaches its maximum value and ranges from 11 to 13 cycles. Regression analysis was used to obtain a mathematical model to determine the heat-resistance of clinker brick at points that were not present in the experimental series.

Generalized information on the structure of alkali-borate compounds and glasses as well as data on the study of the properties and structure of bismuth-borate compounds and glasses based on them in double and triple systems are presented. The intensification of research on bismuth-containing borate systems has stimulated the development of an entire series of new glass compositions distinguished by high fusibility, special electric properties, high region of transmission, and nonlinear-optical properties.

The dependences of the microstructure and physical-mechanical properties of Si₃N₄–TiN-based ceramic in a wide range of mass ratios of the components are examined. The sintering process and the accompanying physical and chemical processes, viz. the dependence of the hardness and density of the material on the ratios of the conducting phase of titanium nitride and the dielectric phase of silicon nitride with values above and below the percolation threshold, are examined. A ceramic based on pure titanium nitride with high physical-mechanical characteristics (H = 21.5 GPa) is obtained.

An apparatus for determining the wettability of quartz sand was developed. It was shown that as the temperature increases, the surface wettability of the minerals present in the glass quartz sand increases owing to a reduction of the slippage of the liquid along the solid surface and, in consequence, the aggregative stability of their suspensions increases.

The optimal conditions for the synthesis of nanocrystalline powders Li₂TiO₃ from a mechanoactivated mixture of lithium and rutile carbonate by the solid-phase method are found. The effect of the firing temperature on the characteristics and microstructure of ceramic made from the synthesized powders is studied.

The changes occurring in the phase composition and microstructure of aluminum-silicate refractory material which disintegrated during operation in a solid-biofuel combustion unit were investigated. The main reasons for the disintegration of the material were determined on the basis of investigations performed by using modern methods and analyzing the results in comparison with published data on the chemical composition of volatile products of biofuel combustion and their physical-chemical properties.

The principles for validating rational parameters for air cooling systems for the critical zones of the melting tank in glass furnaces are formulated. An applied validation procedure making it possible to minimize the electricity consumption by blowers is developed.