Combinatorial evaluation system for thermal properties of glass materials using a vertical furnace with temperature gradient

Critical cooling rate Q for zinc tellurite glass system is
determined based on the time-temperature-transfer (T-T-T) diagrams,
which are compiled by analyzing the crystallized area in the glass
sample libraries annealed simultaneously by a furnace with
temperature gradient. This method reduces the laborious routine
work for preparation, which is needed in the conventional method.
Since the surface/volume ratio of the present samples is large,
their crystallization is mainly governed by heterogeneous
nucleation. Thus, the Q values in this study can be used as a
practical index for the glass products whose surface should be free
of being ground and/or polished, such as fire-polished lenses,
optical fibers and waveguides.