PrinciplesofThermalExpansionrelevantto:

PorcelainFusedtoMetal(PFM)Technique
InDentalTechnology.
Theinformationcontainedhereiniscopyrightedandisbasedonnotestakenandprovided duringatrainingsessionIattendedatDuceraDentalGesellschaftGmbHInRosbachGermany in1996. TrainingwasgivenbyMrAxelPomeranzandwasbasedoninformationprovidedbyMr OttmarKomma,TechnicalDirectorofDuceraDentalatthetime.
Pleasenote:Allgraphsshown,arenotaccuratelyplottedgraphs.Theyaresketchesusedpurelytoillustrateand explainitemsinthetext.Insomecasesanaccuraterepresentationofthecurvewouldbetoosmalltobevisible onthesmallgraphsincluded,theaccuracyofthecurvesisalsoaffectedbythelimitationsofthedrawing softwareusedthussomelicenceapplies.

DesMcLeod. Alberton. October2008.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page1

PorcelainfusedtometalisextensivelyusedinDentistry;thetechniquewasdevelopedinthe 1950s.Inordertoachieveabondbetweentheporcelainandmetal,threephysicalconditions arenecessary.Achemicalbondbetweenporcelainandmetal,mechanicalretentioncreatedby roughmetalsurface(sandblasted)andcompressivepressurecausedbytensioninthe porcelain. Inordertoachievethecompressivepressure,theceramicshouldalwayshaveaslightlylower thermalexpansionthanthealloy,generallyacceptedasbetween0,51,0/mxKless.Thus thematchingoftheCoefficientofThermalExpansion(CTE)oftheporcelainandmetalalloy hasaveryimportantroleinachievingasoundbond. Therangeofalloyshighgold,semipreciousandnonprecioususedinPFMtechniquescover aCTErangeof: 13,815,4/mxKfrom20600C Mostalloyshoweveraresituatedintherangeof: 14,014,4/mxKfrom20600C Inordertohaveabetterunderstandingoftheroleofexpansioncoefficientonthebonding, andresultantstrainandtensilestressinthebondingsystem,anunderstandingofwhatis behindthefigureof14,0andtheotherdetailsof/mxK20600Cisnecessary. Example. CTE20600C=14,0/mxK CTE = CoefficientofThermalExpansionalsoreferredtoasTECorWAK. CTEbetween20C(roomtemperature)and600C.Incomparing 20600C= materialsitisveryimportantthattheCTEismeasuredoverthesame temperaturescale.Inourcasefrom20to600.Insomeproduct brochuresscalesof550,500or400aregiven. 14,0/mxK= 14,0isthevaluemeasuredinaDilatometer(expansionmeasuring Instrument),wherethecoefficientrepresentstheaverageexpansionin microns()perCtemperatureriseofanobject1meterinlength. =micron(1000=1mm) m=meter K=Kelvin(1C=1Kelvin)

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page2

ThereforeusingtheaboveCTEdetail,wegetthefollowing: At1Ctemperatureriseanobject1meterinlengthwillexpand14 At580C(diffbetweenroomtempand600C)temperaturerise,theobjecthasexpanded 580x14=8120 8120=8.12mm Thusthefinallengthoftheobjectat600Cis1,00812m.Asapercentage,wehaveanincrease inlengthof0,812%. Thefollowingtableshowsexpansionsas%inCTEsfrom12,0to16,0at500and600C. CTE 20500C 20600C 12,0 0,576% 0,696% 12,5 0,600% 0,725% 13,0 0,624% 0,754% 13,5 0,648% 0,783% 14,0 0,672% 0,812% 14,5 0,692% 0,841% 15,0 0,720% 0,870% 15,5 0,744% 0,899% 16,0 0,768% 0,928% InpublicationsandproductbrochuresweveryseldomgetCTEsshowninpercentagesorat temperaturerangesdifferenttotheabovetable.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page3

 LinearExpansion

Ifwedrawagraphdepictingtheexpansion betweentwopointse.g.20600C,italways resultsinastraightline(Fig1) AlloyExpansion. Alloysgenerallyexpandandcontractwithavery slightbendtotheircurve(Fig2.)Howeverthis deviationisformostpracticalpurposes insignificant.Itisthereforewithinreasonable acceptancetocalltheexpansionofanalloya straightlinefortheinterpretationofagraphic curve. CeramicExpansion. TheexpansionbehaviourofCeramicshowever,is completelydifferent.InFig3weseethatthe graphicinterpretationismorelikeanScurve.In thefirstpartofthecurve,uptobetween500& 600C(Tg)wefindamoreorlessconstantlinear expansion.FromtheTg(glasspoint)weseeasteep risingexpansion.AttheSP(softeningpoint)wefind theceramichasreacheditsmaximumexpansion. AbovetheSPtheexpansiongoesbacktoshrinkage.
T

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page4

Tobetterunderstandthecurve,wemustelaborateonthedifferentstates: AbovetheSPtheceramicissoft,aconditionsimilartohoney. BelowtheTg.theceramiciscompletelysolidifiedandhasitsspecificproperties. BetweentheTg.andSPthesteepestpartofthecurvewehaveamixturebetween hardandsoft.ObviouslythehardpointsaretobefoundneartheTgandthesoftones beforetheSP.

Todemonstratethispracticallywecanusetheexampleofhoney,whichissoftandrunnyatits SPandinitscrystallisedformlikeCeramicatitsTg.Throughaslowwarmingprocessthe crystallisedhoneywillreachamixedsituation.Thisrepresentsthesituationofceramic betweenTg.andSP. Metal/CeramicCTE. Whenwecomparetheexpansionofthemetalandceramic,itisonlyusefultocompareitupto theTg.AbovetheTgtheceramicispartially,andattheSPfullysoft(relativelyliquid). ConsequentlytheCeramicwillbondtothemetalwithoutstressirrespectiveofthealloys expansion. Ifwedrawadiagram(Fig.4)ofatypicalAu/Pt PFMalloyandceramicCTEcurves,weseethe straightlineofthealloyalmostallthewayabove theScurveoftheceramic.Whatthisillustratesis, thatatthefinalfiringtemperatureofDuceram Kissporcelainof915C,theceramichasalow viscosityandisthusabletoabsorbanddissolve metallicoxidestogiveachemicalbond. Furthermorethelowviscosityallowstheceramic tocorrelatewiththemetalandfollowall movementswithoutproblemsortensionbuildup. FromtheTg.pointdown,theceramicishardandrigid,hereitstartstofollowindependentof themetalbonditsownphysicallaws.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page5

Ifwesimulatethispropertyduringfiringand coolinginagraph,wegetFig5.Thedifference betweenthisgraphandFig4isthatoncooling,the ceramiccurvedropstothemetalcurveandcannot dropbelowtheline.Itstillfollowsitsnaturalcurve whichresultsinaslightbouncesothatitregisters aslightexpansionatroomtemperature.The distancebetweentheceramiccurveandthemetal curve,atroomtemperatureisarelativemeasure showingthetensionbuildup.Obviously,the smallerthedistancebetweentheceramic,andmetalcurves,thelowerthetension,andvice versa.Tensionisnecessaryforthecompressionneededforasoundbond;however,toomuch tensionwillcausetheceramictocrack. InFig6.weshowtheceramicappliedtoanother alloywithahigherCTEandthereforeasteeper angle.Hereweseethatthedistancebetweenthe alloyCTEsatTg,translatesintoagreaterdistance betweenalloyandceramicatroomtemperature. Thisincreaseindistancemeansanincreasein tensionwhichincreasestheriskofcracksinthe ceramic. ThecomparisonbetweenalloysofdifferentCTEsis onlypermissiblewhentheModulusofElasticity (YoungsModulus)isapproximatelythesame.YoungsModulusisameasureoftheabilityofa materialtowithstandchangesinlength,whenunderlengthwisetensionorcompression.Ifwe compareahighgoldalloywithanemoduleof10000withatypicalnonpreciousalloywithe moduleof20000butthesameCTE,thedistanceapartoftheceramicandmetalcurvesas showninFig5istwiceasgreat.Thisiscausedbytheresistancetodeformbythenonprecious alloybeingdouble,thustransferringthisresistancetotheceramicastension.Inpractice,this meansthattheusageofahardalloywithahighemodulebutthesameCTE,willresultin greatertensionbeinginflictedontheceramic.Experiencedceramistsfoundthatbycooling slowly,betterresultswereachieved,i.e.thedangeroftensionwaslessened.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page6

Thisimprovementwasexplainedbythefactthatintheglassindustries,productsarealways cooledslowlytoeliminatetensions.Thusthesameshouldapplywhenbondingceramicto metal.Thisisonlypartlytrue,experiencedceramistswillconfirmthatinconsistentresultswere stillplentifulwithslowcooling.Theinformationprovidedabove,showsthatitisnotonly internaltensionintheceramicthatcausescrackingasintheglassindustry,but,thephysical propertiesofthemetalbeingbondedto,havesignificantinfluencesonthetensioninthe ceramic. Metalceramicmaterialsconsistofaglassandcrystal phase.InthecrystalphasewespeakofLeucite crystals(KAlSiO6alsoreferredtoas feldspathiccontent)thathaveadendritic(fernlike) structure.Thesefernliketwigsofthedendritic structureareinallnormalceramicmaterials,and undercertainspecifictime/temperatureconditions cangrowupto15%.Ageneralruleis;thehigherthe amountofthisdendriticstructure,thehighertheCTE oftheceramic.Undercertaincircumstancesthis growthisreversible.ThuswehavetwoseparateCTE situations.TheprimaryCTEandthesecondaryCTE. TheprimaryCTEistheirreversiblecrystalphasewhichisreachedthroughafastheatingand coolingcycle.ThisprimaryCTEisusuallyfirstachievedduringthemanufacturingprocess.By performingfastheatingandcoolingcycles,theprimaryCTEofsomemetalceramicscanbe maintainedinupto8cycleswithoutchangingtheCTEvalue,andisthusconsideredtobe stable. ThesecondaryCTEofDuceramKissmetalceramicisreachedthroughamaximum crystallisationphase(atatemperatureof850C),wheretheviscosityoftheglassphaseisso lowthatthecrystaltwigscankeepgrowing.Thissecondarycrystallisationissometimes referredtoastempering. Atalowertemperature(about750C),theviscosityoftheglassphaseissohighthatthe chemicalpartnerscannotmeetforcrystallisation.Atahighertemperature(950C)theglass phaseviscosityissolowthatthechemicalcrystallisationpartnerswillbetakeninanddissolved.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page7

ConsideringtheseconnectionsbetweenprimaryandsecondaryCTEwecan,inpractical applicationsdependingonthefurnaceusedandgoodcontrolofthefiringcyclegivea controlledexpansionrisetotheceramic.Thisexpansioncan,dependingontheCTEofthe alloy,beguidedinsuchaway,thattheceramicwillbeintheidealpressuretensionregionof 0,51,0/mxKCTEpointsbelowthealloyandoffersthegreatestamountofsafetyinrelation totension. TheincreaseoftheCTEoftheceramicisachievedthroughslowcoolingafterfiring,startingat thefinaltemperaturedownto850C.Inpracticalsituations,aholdingtimeof23minswithin thistemperaturerangewillresultinasecondarycrystallisationofabout80%ofmaximum achievable. Slowcoolingbelow750CwillhavenoeffectonCTEortension.Thusinordertohave consistentresults,theporcelainfurnaceshouldbecapableofcontrollingthecoolingdownto 850830C.Thereafterthecoolingcanbefast.

Tel0118676896email:bettaden@netactive.co.za

Page8