High borosilicate glass tubes and quartz glass tubes differ in several ways:
Ingredients:
High borosilicate glass tube: the main components are sodium oxide, boron oxide and silicon dioxide, of which borosilicate content is higher, the content of boron is 12.5%-13.5%, and the content of silicon is 78%-80%.
Quartz glass tube: The composition is silica, purity up to 99.99%.
Physical properties:
Hardness:
High borosilicate glass tube: The Mohs hardness is relatively high, but it is still lower than the quartz glass tube, about 5.5.
Quartz glass tube: high hardness, up to Mohs grade 7, second only to diamond, corundum and other materials, more wear-resistant and scratch-resistant in daily use.
Density:
High borosilicate glass tube: The relatively small density makes it advantageous in some applications where weight is required, such as instruments requiring lightweight materials.
Quartz glass tube: The density is larger, which also means that under the same volume, the quartz glass tube will be heavier.
Light transmission:
High borosilicate glass tube: it has a good light transmittance, which can reach about 92%, which can meet most applications with high requirements for light transmittance.
Quartz glass tube: in the entire spectral band from ultraviolet to infrared has extremely excellent light transmission performance, visible light transmittance of more than 93%, especially in the ultraviolet spectral region, the maximum transmittance can reach more than 80%, in the optical field has an irreplaceable position.
Thermal properties:
High temperature resistance:
High borosilicate glass tube: strain temperature of 520℃, softening temperature of 820℃, can be used at a relatively high temperature, but there is still a gap compared with quartz glass tube.
Quartz glass tube: softening point temperature of about 1730℃, can be used at 1100℃ for a long time, the maximum use temperature of a short time can reach 1450℃, has very excellent high temperature resistance.
Coefficient of thermal expansion:
High borosilicate glass tube: linear thermal expansion coefficient is (3.3±0.1)×10⁻⁶/K, the coefficient of thermal expansion is low, which makes it small change in size when the temperature changes, has good thermal stability.
Quartz glass tube: the coefficient of thermal expansion is very small, can withstand drastic temperature changes, heating it to about 1100℃ into normal temperature water will not burst.
Chemical properties:
High borosilicate glass tube: has good chemical erosion resistance, acid, alkali, water resistance is superior, and has good tolerance to general acid, alkali, water and other chemical substances.
Quartz glass tube: in addition to hydrofluoric acid, almost no chemical reaction with other acid substances, its acid resistance is 30 times that of ceramics, 150 times that of stainless steel, especially the chemical stability at high temperatures, is unmatched by any other engineering materials.
Manufacturing process:
High borosilicate glass tube: The manufacturing process is relatively simple, usually using traditional glass manufacturing methods, such as float, crucible method, etc.
Quartz glass tube: Because of the high melting point of quartz glass, the manufacturing process requires high temperature and special equipment, mainly electric melting method, gas refining method, etc.
Application field:
High borosilicate glass tube: because of its good performance, it is widely used in solar energy, chemical industry, pharmaceutical packaging, electric light source, process jewelry and other industries.
Quartz glass tube: widely used in electric light source, semiconductor, optical communication, military, metallurgy, building materials, chemistry, machinery, electric power, environmental protection, optical instruments and other fields.
Price:
High borosilicate glass tube: The production process is relatively simple, the cost of raw materials is relatively low, so the price is relatively cheap.
Quartz glass tube: The manufacturing process is complex, the purity of raw materials is high, and the production equipment and process costs are high, so the price is usually more expensive than the high borosilicate glass tube.
Machining accuracy:
Quartz glass tube machining is more accurate and less tolerant than high borosilicate glass tube.