Ben Caldwell’s Artists are very finely crushed shards of glass. They can be used to create a variety of effects in glass blowing and kiln glass techniques. They can be mixed with glass cullet or frit to create different colors of glass. They can also be sifted onto molten glass to make patterns, cast in pate de verre, or used as powder wafers or in liquid stringer.

Powdered glass is also useful in the manufacture of concrete. It is a good replacement for fly ash and cement in concrete mix designs, resulting in lower costs, increased strength, and durability. Vitro Minerals offers two types of glass pozzolan, VCAS and ACAS, which are low alkali types that meet the ASTM C 1866 standard for glass pozzolans.

How to Master Sculpting Designs Using Powdered Glass, Copper, and Heat

In addition to its use in concrete, glass powder can also be used to reduce the dumping of glass waste into landfills and waterways by recycling it back into new glass. When incorporated into concrete, glass powder is a good binder and can help to control the water content and increase the durability of the concrete.

Glass powder is also useful in reducing the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between different materials and thus improving their performance when joined together. For example, it is used in glass-to-metal seals in high temperature applications, and it is also utilized to improve the mechanical properties of glass-reinforced polymers. Other uses include optical lenses, abrasives and other specialty materials.