Tuesday, November 23, 2010

NMEGW Recycle-Glass Tile Research and Developement

Follow NMEGW's research and development for post-consumer recycled glass tiles.  Share our success and failure, and help us consider applications for this unique material.

11/23/10 Research and Development Entry 1:

Three wax templates for tile molds, they are constructed on standard 6" x 6" tiles for uniformity.
The wax templates are 6” x 6” with a 1.5” depth to accommodate glass before
melting. When the glass melts it eliminates air space, losing roughly 2/3 of the
pre-melt volume. I anticipate the fired, finished, depth of the tile to be roughly ½”.

We used roughly 25 lbs. of refractory material to cast the mold for three 6" tiles.
The three wax template tiles are invested in a refractory cement mold.
Perspective of the tape measure is skewed, the exterior measurement of the
mold is accurately 23” l x 9” w x 3” d.
Here the wax templates have been divested from the refractory molds. This high-temp cement mold can be reused in repeated firings.
The mold is prepared with a thin release of kiln wash that is sprayed on thinly and dusted out lightly with a soft brush when dry.

The NM Waste Management Department processes the post consumer recycled glass by crushing it into two sizes, fine, and course.  For this first test we are using the fine crushed. Each tile of mold is filled with 2lbs. of New Mexico Waste Management's fine crushed post consumer waste glass.





NMEGW Recycled Glass Tile Kiln Program 1
*time refers to cumulative elapsed time, but time 'holds' until kiln temperature matches prescribed temperate 

#
time
temp.
1
10:00
900
2
12:00
1500
3
13:00
1500
4
15:00
900
5
20:00
900
6
30:00
750
7
35:00
750
8
40:00
500
9
41:00
0


Kiln Program 1 complete!  See the first test tiles below.


12/7/10 Research and Development Entry 2



front of 6" tile from kiln program 1
Observations Kiln Program 1
The glass is fused together and the edges of the individual chunks of glass are rounded.  Tiles are solid, not crumbly, but chunks of glass are still distinct.  The mold impressions are distinct but appear weak, and overpowered by the texture and color of the individual chunks of glass.  It looks like beach sand with lots of little pieces of colored beach glass. The front of the tile (mold impression side) is fused flat, while the backside (open mold side) is more like hardened beach sand.







back of 6" tile from kiln program 1
Conclusions Kiln Program 1
The glass reached a high enough temperature to "fuse" but not to "flow".  This type of tile would be ok for walls but not for floor or counter tops because of potential liquid permeability through fused glass.  The details of the mold need to be distinct and of high relief to create crisp shadow to reveal the mold information.  The 'back' side of tile with it's sandy texture is equally interesting as the 'front' side with the mold impression.




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