Isothermal phase transformations of a dental porcelain.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the change in the leucite weight fraction during an isothermal heat treatment could be estimated by observing the deformation of PFM strips in a high-heating-rate, computer-controlled bending beam viscometer (BBV).


METHODS
Specimens of a commercial body porcelain were fired according to the manufacturer's instructions-50 disk specimens for quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD) and 100 bimaterial strip specimens for BBV. The XRD specimens were annealed at temperatures between 650 and 1000 degrees C, and leucite weight fraction was measured using an alumina internal standard. The BBV specimens were annealed in the BBV using time-temperature schedules designed to elucidate the leucite crystallization behavior between 700 and 1000 degrees C. Timoshenko's equation for a bimaterial thermostat was used to estimate the change in the thermal expansion of the porcelain near room temperature. Changes in leucite weight fraction were determined from these thermal expansion changes.


RESULTS
The means and SDs were compared to values obtained by quantitative XRD. Good agreement was obtained between values of leucite weight fraction derived from beam deformation and those determined by quantitative XRD (p> or =0.45). The anneal sequence showed that the increase in leucite weight fraction at 800 or 900 degrees C is reversible by an anneal at 1000 degrees C.


CONCLUSIONS
The BBV technique yields comparable results to quantitative XRD and provides the opportunity to efficiently monitor porcelain leucite changes nondestructively over multiple heat treatments. This technique could prove useful for testing firing schedules designed to stabilize the leucite content in dental porcelain.
Twiggs
S Warren
SW
Oral Rehabilitation/Dental Materials, Medical College of Georgia, School of Dentistry, Augusta, GA 30912-1260, USA.
Mackert
J Rodway
JR
Oxford
Amalia L
AL
Ergle
Janet W
JW
Lockwood
Petra E
PE
D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000032:analysis; D003776:Dental Porcelain / Q000737:chemistry*; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D004055:Differential Thermal Analysis; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007700:Kinetics; D008422:Materials Testing; D016876:Metal Ceramic Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D044367:Phase Transition; D013674:Technology, Dental / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014783:Viscosity; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D016876:Metal Ceramic Alloys; D003776:Dental Porcelain; C078519:leucite