Ceramics-Silikáty 57, (3) 258 - 264 (2013) |
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APPLICATION OF HEATING MICROSCOPY ON SINTERING
AND MELTING BEHAVIOUR OF NATURAL SANDS
OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST
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Montanari Francesco 1, Boschetti Cristina 2, Miselli Paola 1,
Hanuskova Miriam 1,
Baraldi Pietro 3,
Leonelli Cristina 1
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1 Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
Via Vignolese 905, 41125 Modena, Italy
2 Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD Nottingham, UK
3 Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
Via Campi 183, 41125 Modena, Italy
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Keywords: Hot stage microscope, Sintering curves, Natural sand, Meltability, Ancient vitreous materials
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In antiquity, beach sand was one of the main raw materials for glass-making and for the production of other vitreous
materials, like Egyptian blue and faience. During the 1st century AD, glass and pigments manufacturing industry was active
along the Gulf of Naples, Italy, where we sampled four littoral sands. Samples were analyzed with different techniques:
chemical analysis was performed by means of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and mineralogical analyses with X-Ray Powder
Diffraction (XRPD) and Raman Spectroscopy. The complete sintering to melting thermal behaviour of the four sands was
studied by heating microscopy or hot-stage microscope (HSM) equipped with an high resolution camera capable to collect
sample profile during heating. The effect of the grain size on the sintering curves, which were automatically elaborated by
specimen profile transformation, was also investigated. Finally, some deductions about the granulometry effect and the
presence of alkaline and alkaline-earth oxides on sintering and melting behaviour were drawn. All the four sands were found
suitable for highly sintered manufacts rather than glasses, to reach complete amorphous materials the addition of fluxes was
necessary |
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