SAXS STUDY OF THE MICROINHOMOGENEITY OF INDUSTRIAL SODA LIME SILICA GLASS

The microstructure of a variety of industrial multicomponent soda lime glasses for container and glazing and of a lead alkali silicate glass for pressed tableware articles was analyzed using small angle X-ray s cattering (SAXS). No inhomogeneity with size > 0.5 nm was found in the industrial samples, while ternary soda lime glass samples with a suit able composition when heat treated developed a phase separation which SAXS detected without difficulty. The results obtained disprove earlie r reports which attributed problems of rheology and strength affecting container production ('bad workability') to microstructure formation.