Fused Silica

Fused silica is an amorphous siliceous glass produced by high temperature fusion of high quality crystalline silica (quartz). This fusion produces a substance characterised by very low thermal expansion and a high resistance to temperature and thermal shock.

Fused silica is employed in a variety of industrial applications including foundry (investment casting slurry and stucco, and mould release agent), refractory and ceramic (crucibles, saggars, rollers, pouring cups, ceramic cores, gas fire radiants and items for steel, nonferrous metal and glass industries), and filler (electronic and adhesives). Dupré Minerals realised early on that the secret of manufacturing investment powder lay in the quality of the raw materials available.

The company has carried out an extensive global sourcing project and has located what it considers to be some of the highest quality refractories so far made available to investment foundries. These include Fused Silica produced from quartz of exceptional purity with an SiO2 content of 99.9%. The source also has particularly low iron, potassium and sodium oxides and such a low trace element content to fall well within Aerospace specifications.

Trace Elements

Silver	< 20 ppm	Bismuth	< 1 ppm	Iron	< 50 ppm
Tin	< 20 ppm	Lead	< 10 ppm	Antimony	< 10 ppm
Zinc	< 25 ppm

Downloads

	Fused Silica Data Sheet (165 KB)
	Fused Silica Material Safety Data Sheet (33 KB)

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Chemical Analysis

SiO2	> 99.8%	Na2O	< 0.03%	ZnO	< 0.01%
TiO2	< 0.01%	P2O5	< 0.02%	BaO	< 0.01%
Al2O3	< 0.02%	Cr2O5	< 0.01%	SrO	< 0.01%
Fe2O3	< 0.01%	Mn3O4	< 0.01%	SnO2	< 0.01%
CaO	< 0.01%	ZrO2	< 0.02%	CuO	< 0.01%
MgO	< 0.02%	HfO2	< 0.01%	LOI (1025°C)	< 0.10%
K2O	< 0.01%	PbO	< 0.02%	Approx. SO3 after LOI and Fusion	< 0.05%

Particle Size Distribution - Grain Grades

4/10 Grade (4 - 1.7mm)		10/20 Grade (1.7 - 0.85mm)		30/50 Grade (0.5 - 0.3mm)		20/50 Grade (0.85 - 0.3mm)		50/100 Grade (0.3 - 0.15mm)		-30 Grade (0.5mm)
BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%
4	0-15	8	0-2	25	20-35	30	35-70	52	0-2	30	0.5-5
6	25-50	10	0-20	36	20-40	70	25-60	100	75-90	-70	15-35
10	45-70	16	20-50	52	15-30	100	0-5	150	5-15	-200	0-1
30	1-15	20	10-30	85	0-20	200	0-1	200	0-3
		52	0-5	-350	0-0.5	-350	0-1	-350	0-1
		-52	0-1

Particle Size Distribution - Flour Grades

-120 Grade (125µm)		-200 Grade (75µm)		-325 Grade (53µm)
d10	6.06µm	d10	4.00µm	d10	2.84µm
d50	39.7µm	d50	26.07µm	d50	15.19µm
d90	124.5µm	d90	81.53µm	d90	55.4µm
BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%	BSS Mesh	%
100	4 - 12	150	0 - 2	325	0 - 2
150	10 - 20	200	2 - 10	-325	98 - 100
200	10 - 20	325	15 - 22
325	15 - 25	-325	64 - 83
-325	35 - 50

The above product information is given in good faith as accurate and reliable but is not to be taken as a guarantee. The figures provided are intended to be a guide to expected average values and should not be interpreted as a specification. Any potential applications referred to are not to be construed as recommendations. It is the responsibility of the user to determine suitability for any specific purpose.