Glass-ceramics have been produced from filter dusts of domiciliary was
te incinerators without the addition of nucleating additives. A two-st
ep heat treatment of melted filter dusts (1 h at 880 degrees C, 10 h a
t 950 degrees C) was used to obtain a fine crystalline microstructure,
the principal constituents being crystals of the pyroxene group. The
glass-ceramic materials have better mechanical and thermomechanical pr
operties than those of the parent glass, being potential candidates fo
r industrial applications. A fracture-mirror analysis was carried out
to evaluate the measured fracture strength and fracture toughness of t
he glass and glass-ceramics produced. The data are in agreement with p
revious studies showing that the parameter A/K-Ic, where A is the frac
ture-mirror constant, is a dimensionless, material-independent constan
t.