Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society Volume 45[2], 2009, 40-48

Transient Modelling of Thermal Processing for

Ceramic Prostheses
Zhongpu Zhang1, Qing Li1, Wei Li1 and Michael Swain2
1) School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
2) Faculty of Dentistry
University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Available Online at: www.austceram.com/ACS-Journal-2009vol2.asp

Abstract
This study aims to present a numerical and experimental transient characterisation for mono- or bi-layered
ceramic samples and dental restorations under a controlled cooling process from high temperature (typically
900C) to room temperature (25C). The processes may undergo different cooling rates: namely rapid cooling,
normal cooling and slow cooling. The cooling rate is not a constant during convection. Cooling rate
dependencies of the temperature distribution about the glass transition temperature during cooling will be taken
into account. The heat transfer coefficients used in this numerical simulation are derived from experimental data.
The FEA results are correlated to experimental results and a good agreement is achieved. The transient material
processing models showed a significant potential for development of optimal prosthetic devices.
Keywords: ceramics, transient thermal, cooling rate, finite element, temperature distribution
all-ceramic restorations, where Denzir (DZ) and
In-Ceram
Zirconia
(InZ)
exhibited
an
unacceptable amount of veneering porcelain
fractures in short-term study [7]. In an average 31
months follow-up study, minor chipping fractures
of veneering porcelain were detected in five fixed
partial dental prostheses of sixteen restorations in
total [8].

INTRODUCTION
All-ceramic dental restorations are being used
extensively because of their superior aesthetics,
chemical durability, and biocompatibility. The
typical core veneered all-ceramic restorations has
the frameworks made of stronger, less aesthetic
ceramic materials such as zirconia, alumina or
glass-ceramic. To satisfy increasing aesthetic
demand, core frameworks are veneered with toothcoloured porcelains, and its strength is of primary
importance. However, there have been a substantial
number of reports showing the failure of some
zirconia- or alumina-based devices [1, 2]. In few
studies evaluated the clinical performance of InCeram Alumina crowns have reported survival rates
of greater than 90 percent. The main causes of
failure reported in all these studies were
catastrophic fractures, secondary caries and
chipping of the veneer ceramic [3, 4]. In a longterm clinical study, success rate of alumina-based
ceramic systems was 90% after 5 years and survival
rate 65% after 11 years, and success rate of
zirconia-based ceramic systems were 100% after 2
or 3 years clinical study [5]. It is noted that the
fracture mode of alumina crowns (total fractures)
differs from that zirconia crowns (veneer fractures)
because of zirconia core is stronger than the
alumina core. In a five-year follow-up study of 3and 4- unit posterior fixed partial dentures, the
success rate of the zirconia frameworks was 97.8%
but the survival rate was 73.9% because of
secondary caries and chipping of the veneering
ceramic [6]. One study evaluated the clinical
performance of two to five-unit implant-supported

Several studies have measured the transient and

residual stresses in porcelain component of a
porcelain-fused-to-metal restoration subjected to
variable cooling rates. DeHoff and Anusavice
developed an analytical model to calculate the
transient and residual stress in felspathic porcelain
plates subjected to certain cooling rates [9]. To
calculate temperature distributions, three different
levels of convective heat transfer coefficients were
set in 57 W/mC for slow cooling, 114 W/mC
for normal cooling and 170 W/mC for forced
cooling. However, the coefficients at normal or
forced cooling were arbitrarily selected and were
not associated with specific cooling conditions.
DeHoff et al. [10] also applied the visco-elastic
theory to determine transient and residual stresses
in metal-opaque porcelain-body porcelain (MOB)
disks that were affected by different cooling rates.
The constant convective heat transfer coefficients at
all exposed surfaces were 560 W/mC for
tempering and 57 W/mC for fast cooling. Asaoka
and Tesk calculated the tempering stresses that
were developed in constant cooling rates [11].
However, cooling rate is not a constant value
during cooling.

40

Zhongpu Zhang, Qing Li, Wei Li and Michael Swain

developed in the mono- or bi-layered ceramic

samples under a controlled cooling process from
high temperature 900C to room temperature. The
processes subject different cooling conditions:
namely rapid cooling, normal cooling and slow
cooling. In this study, the convection and
conduction affected by different cooling procedures
were measured from experimental data. It will also
examine the dependencies of the glass transition
temperature and thickness of either mono- or bilayered ceramic-ceramic restorations on the cooling
rates.

Asaoka et al. pointed out that the calculated

residual stresses at the surface and the centre of
their 1.5, 2, and 10 mm-thick porcelain disks from
high temperature to 30C [12]. The cooling rates in
the temperature range of 650 to 450C were to
calculated to be 6.9 to 4.7C/s and 28 to 19C/s for
the 10mm and 1.5 mm-thick porcelain specimens,
respectively, subjected to cooling in air from
1000C. For a 10mm in diameter, 1.5 mm-thick
porcelain disk subjected to slow cooling in ambient
air, cooling rate was experimentally determined as
28 to 10C/s from 650 to 300C. For a 2 mm-thick
porcelain disk, cooling rate was 21.7 to 9.5C/s
cooled from 650 to 300C. Such findings indicate
that the cooling rate is lower in thicker porcelain
disks. The 2mm porcelain specimens cooled by
forced air, the cooling rate was calculated to be
52.4C/s at 600C. In their study, the convective
heat transfer coefficient was 210 W/mC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Specimen Preparation
Commercial monolayer dental porcelain (Vitadur
Alpha porcelain) was used for gathering the
experimental data. The samples are made of
cylindrical shape of porcelain with 10mm in
diameter and 2 or 4mm in thickness. Since the
critical temperature for developing residual stresses
is glass transition ranging from 700 to 400C, the
porcelain was heated at 700C and held there for 5
minutes. For bilayer samples, the plate shape of
core-veneered ceramics consisting of 1215.5mm
cross-section area, a 0.6 mm-thick layer of zirconia
core ceramic, and a 3.46 mm-thick layer of zirconia
porcelain are made according to the manufacturers
recommended procedure.

For layered all-ceramic systems, some studies have

characterised the transient and residual stress
affected by different cooling conditions. Gardon
reported that transient stress was measured by
quenching a 6.1mm thick glass plate from an initial
temperature of 616C with heat convection
coefficient of h = 222 W/mC [13]. Hojjatie
developed a two-dimensional analytical model to
determine the effects of tempering process on
transient stresses in ceramics [14]. The major
variables responsible for controlling the
temperature gradient, and residual stress within the
ceramics were reported to be specimen thickness,
heat transfer coefficient, and initial cooling
temperature. The values of heat transfer coefficients
measured for free convective cooling and tempering
in air were 70 and 560 W/mC, respectively.
These values were estimated from the experimental
results by using embedded thermocouples to
measure the temperature vs. time profiles for 2 mmthick porcelain disks cooling from 982C. DeHoff
et al. adopted the viscoelastic options of the
ANSYS finite element analysis program to
calculate residual stresses in an all-ceramic fixed
partial denture (FPD) for four different ceramicceramic combinations [15]. A free convective
cooling (heat transfer coefficient h = 35 W/mC)
from high temperature to room temperature was
applied. Another test calculated temperatures and
stresses for cylindrical and spherical bi-layered
ceramic systems by using axisymmetric thermal
and viscoelastic elements [16]. This study
simulated free convective cooling of the models
from an initial temperature of 700C to room
temperature. A constant convective heat transfer
coefficient of 17 W/mC was applied to the
exposed surfaces to provide an initial cooling rate at
the surface of approximately 640C/min.

To determine the transient temperature versus time

profiles during different cooling process for
monolayer dental porcelain, a thermo-couple was
placed on the surface of porcelain disk. For the
bilayer core-veneered ceramics, one thermo-couple
was used to measure temperature on the surface of
veneering porcelain; another thermo-couple was
placed at the interface between porcelain layer and
core ceramic layer. A computer program was
developed to record the temperature values as a
function of time. The time and temperature data
were recorded, and thereafter the thermal history
for each cooling procedure was plotted.
The experimental protocol of different cooling rates
are set up: (1) it was cooled sufficiently slowly in
the furnace in the slow cooling; (2) it was removed
from the furnace and cooled in ambient air at room
temperature as normal cooling; (3) the monolayer
porcelain disk tempered by blasting compressed air
directly on it as it was removed from the furnace.
Transient Thermal Analysis
A transient thermal analysis determines the
variations in temperature and other thermal
quantities under certain conditions over a specific
period. The rate of convection heat transfer is
expressed by Newtons law of cooling as:

The objective of this study was to adopt the finite

element method to simulate the transient cooling
process in terms of temperature change that is
41

Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society Volume 45[2], 2009, 40-48

1
Cooling rates can be adjusted by changing the
convective heat transfer coefficient in thermal
analysis. Since convective heat transfer coefficients
are not material properties of the sample, it is an
experimentally determined parameter whose value
depends on all the variables influencing convection
process such as the surface geometry, the nature of
air motion, the thermo-physical properties of the
ambient air, and the bulk air velocity. If the
coefficient of convective heat transfer is
independent of the volume and surface area of the
solid, Eqn 4 can be repressed as follows:

where h is the convective heat transfer coefficient

in W/mC, given by a average value from high
temperature to room temperature, As is the surface
area through which convection heat transfer takes
place, Ts is the surface temperature in C, and Ta is
the temperature of ambient air around the samples.
Thermal diffusivity, D, represents the ratio of
thermal conductivity to volumetric heat capacity,
expressed in Eqn 2. It is not at steady state in
transient heat transfer problems, but gives an
indication of the rate of rise of temperature at one
point due to a heat source at another point.

Newtons law of cooling states that the rate of

change of the temperature of an object is
proportional to the difference between its own
temperature and ambient temperature, expressed in
Eqn 3:

Finite Element Method

ANSYS program is employed in this study. The
convection cooling of the mono- or bi-layered
models from an initial temperature 900C to room
temperature is first modelled in two-dimensional
(2D) thermal element PLANE55. The dimensions
of 2D monolayer were 10mm in length, and 2 or 4
mm in thickness.

Asaoka et al [12] stated that the gradient k is given

by Eqn 4, when a lumped thermal capacity model
of transient heat transfer is assumed as a Biot
number less than 0.1:

The convective cooling of three-dimensional (3D)

mono- or bi-layered models was also created by the
eight-node thermal element (SOLID70) in ANSYS.
The material of the cores and the veneering
porcelain layers were assumed to be homogeneous,
isotropic and linearly elastic. In this study, Vitadur
Alpha and Vita VM9 were used as a veneering
material. The core ceramics were Vita In-Ceram
Alumina and a conventional yttria-stabilized
tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP). The data
of the thermo-mechanical properties of each
material are determined from the literature [17] and
manufacturer, as summarised in Table 1.

The Biot number is defined as:

where a, b, and t are length, width and thickness of

plate, respectively.

where r is the radius of cylinder, and t is thickness.

where k is thermal conductivity, is the density,

and Cp is the specific heat of the sample material.

Lc is characteristic length, which is commonly

defined as the volume of the body divided by the
surface area of the body which is exposed to
ambient air in the study.

Table 1: Thermo-physical properties of materials used for finite element analysis

Materials
Youngs Poissons
Thermal
Thermal
Specific Heat
Modulus Ratio
expansion
Conductivity
(J/K.kg)
(GPa)
coefficient
(W/m-K)
(m/mK)

Density
(kg/m3)

Y-TZP base

200

0.32

10.5

2.5

465

6000

In-Ceram Alumina

260

0.27

7.6

14

500

4000

Vita VM9 Porcelain

70

0.26

800

2500

Vita Alpha Porcelain

64

0.19

7.1

1.1

840

2400

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Zhongpu Zhang, Qing Li, Wei Li and Michael Swain

RESULTS
91 W/mC for fast cooling, 26 W/mC for
normal cooling, and 4 W/mC for slow cooling. It
is observed that the numerical models match the
experimental results fairly well in the normal and
fast cooling process. Since the convective heat
transfer coefficient is an average value assigned in
ANSYS, plots of slow cooling is not as accurate as
the normal and fast cooling in terms of the
deviations between the numerical and experimental
results.

Fig. 1 shows the temperature vs cooling time for the

2mm thick monolayer porcelain specimen for three
different cooling procedures over the from glass
transition temperature ranging 700 to 400C. Both
2D and 3D finite element results are presented. The
values of heat transfer coefficient from numerical
simulation are adopted from Table 2. In the 2D
transient simulation, the convective heat transfer
coefficient is 95 W/mC for fast cooling, 25
W/mC for normal cooling, and 4.2 W/mC for
slow cooling. The coefficients from 3D analysis are

Fig. 1: Experimental and numerical profiles of surface temperature of 2mm thick monolayer porcelain disc vs
time for three cooling procedures:(a)2D finite element results(left), (b)3D finite element results(right)
Table 2: Convective heat transfer coefficients generated by numerical analysis (W/mC)
Type of finite
element
analysis
Type of
model

2D Finite Element Analysis

Fast
Cool

Normal
Cool

Slow
Cool

3D Finite Element Analysis

Fast
Cool

Normal
Cool

Slow
Cool

2mm thick
95
25
4.2
91
26
4
monolayer
4mm thick
105
24
9
100
25
8
monolayer
4.06mm thick
55 V
44 V
16 V
55 V
45 V
14 V
bilayer*
28 C
25 C
4C
22 C
21 C
6C
*V means at veneering ceramic surface, C means at core ceramic surface.

Final Results for further

simulation
Fast
Cool

Normal
Cool

Slow
Coo

98

25

6.3

55 V
25 C

44.5 V
23 C

15 V
5C

less than 0.1, Eqn 6 can be considered to apply. The

Bi< 0.1 for both 2mm and 4mm porcelain disc, so
value of K is 0.034/s & 0.022/s for fast cooling,
0.0087/s & 0.0056/s for normal cooling, 0.0022/s &
0.0014/s for slow cooling. The values of cooling
rate in the temperature range from 700 to 400C
calculated by Eqn 3 are 23.8-13.6 C/s and 15.48.8C/s (fast), 6.09-3.48C/s and 3.92-2.24C/s
(normal), 1.54-0.88C/s and 0.98-0.56C/s (slow)
for the 2 and 4mm-thick porcelain discs,
respectively. However, cooling rates from
convection cooling numerical simulation of 2 and
4mm porcelain specimen are 26.8-9.15C/s and
35.3-16.7C/s for fast cooling, 8.7-4.61C/s and
5.92-2.30C/s for normal cooling, 1.42- 0.75C/s
and 1.74-0.76C/s for slow cooling.

The temperature distribution of 4mm thick

monolayer porcelain specimen during three
different cooling procedures is shown in Fig. 2. In
both 2D and 3D finite element results, the
convective heat transfer coefficient are almost
matched, such as 105 vs 100 W/mC for fast
cooling, 24 vs 25 W/mC for normal cooling, 9 vs
8 W/mC for slow cooling. However, the
convective heat transfer coefficients are different
for 2 and 4 mm-thick porcelain discs, due to
inaccuracy measurement in experiments. Therefore,
to calculate the means of coefficients, the final
convection heat transfer coefficients based on
experimental measurement are 98 W/mC for fast
cooling, 25 W/mC for normal cooling and 6.3
W/mC for slow cooling. Since the Biot number is

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Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society Volume 45[2], 2009, 40-48

Fig. 2: Experimental and numerical profiles of surface temperature of 4mm thick monolayer porcelain disc vs
time for three cooling procedures: (a)2D finite element results (left); (b)3D finite element results (right)
15 W/mC at porcelain surface, 5 W/mC at
core layer ceramic for slow cooling. The cooling
rates in temperature range of 700 to 400C for 4.06
mm-thick bilayer plate are 2.52-0.80C/s at
porcelain surface, 1.66-0.82C/s at interface for
slow cooling, 8.88-2.60C/s at surface, 6.012.77C/s at interface for normal cooling, and 12.63.28C/s at surface, 6.65-3.55C/s at interface for
slow cooling.

Fig. 3 shows temperature variation as a function of

time at the surface of porcelain layer and the
interface of 4.06 mm-thick bilayer specimens. The
convective heat transfer coefficients are the same as
those in 2D and 3D numerical simulations. With the
rapid cooling, the heat transfer coefficients used for
further simulation are 55 W/mC at porcelain
surface, 25 W/mC at surface of core layer. The
coefficients are 44.5 W/mC at porcelain surface,
23 W/mC at core surface for normal cooling, and

(a)2D fast cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

(b)2D normal cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

(c)2D slow cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

(d)3D fast cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

44

Zhongpu Zhang, Qing Li, Wei Li and Michael Swain

(e)3D normal cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

(f)3D slow cooled 4.06mm thick bilayer specimen

Fig. 3: Experimental and numerical results of surface & interface temperatures of total 4.06mm thick bilayered
plate vs time for three cooling procedures:(a)2D 4.06mm thick Fast cooling; (b)2D 4.06mm normal cooling;
(c)2D 4.06mm Slow cooling; (d)3D 4.06mm Fast cooling; (e)3D 4.06mm Normal cooling; (f)3D 4.06mm Slow
cooling.
product of the specific heat and density, but less
dependent on the thermal conductivity in this case.

The surface temperature changes of 4mm Vita

VM9 porcelain discs that underwent three different
cooling procedures are plotted in Fig. 4. With the
rapid cooling, the specimen reaches 25C from
900C in 320 seconds. The porcelain disc reaches
room temperature in 4300s for slow cooling, and
1510s for normal cooling. The highest cooling rates
in this temperature for 4mm thick Vita VM9
porcelain disc are 1.49C/s for slow cooling,
5.36C/s for normal cooling, and 37.7C/s for fast
cooling.

Fig.5: Profiles of surface temperature of 3D 4mm

monolayer disc (Vita Alpha, Y-TZP Base, Vita VM9,
In-Ceram Alumina).
Fig. 6 illustrates temperature profiles at selected
timeframes through the 2mm bilayer plate (0.6mm
Y-TZP and 1.4mm porcelain) with rapid cooling
and slow cooling. As shown in Fig. 6(a), the
maximum temperature occurs at in the range of -0.2
to 0.1mm which is located at the zirconia core layer
around the interface. It can be also clearly seen that
the minimum temperature occurs on the surface of
porcelain layer. The largest difference is 25C at
25s, 7.5C gives the lowest difference at 100s
through the bilayer plate. Temperature changes as a
function of time for slow cooling are illustrated in
Fig. 6(b). In this situation, the maximum
temperature is at the same location of the bilayer
specimen as well as minimum temperature. The
only difference is the value of temperature, because
temperature will decrease quickly for fast cooling.

Fig. 4: Profiles of surface temperature of 3D 4mm

Vita VM9 porcelain for three cooling procedures
Fig. 5 shows the profiles of surface temperature for
3D 4mm monolayer disc of Vitadur Alpha, Y-TZP
Base, Vita VM9 and In-Ceram Alumina. If material
properties are independent on temperature, the
values of thermal diffusivity in Eqn 2 are 910-7
m/s for Y-TZP base, 710-6 m/s for In-Ceram
Alumina, 510-7 m/s for Vita VM9 porcelain, and
5.4510-7 m/s for Vitadur Alpha porcelain. The
temperature plots of two porcelains and Alumina
are overlapped. This phenomenon shows that
temperature decrease mainly depends on the

45

Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society Volume 45[2], 2009, 40-48

(a) Temperature at 25s, 50s, 75s, 100s by fast cooling (b) Temperature distribution at 50s, 100s by slow cooling
Fig. 6: Temperature profiles in the 2mm bilayer plate (0.6mm Y-TZP and 1.4mm porcelain) at selected
timeframes undergoing different cooling procedures: (a) rapid cooling; (b) slow cooling.
As illustrated in Fig. 7, with the rapid cooling, the
temperature distribution through the 4mm bilayer
plate at 25s, 50s, 75s, and 100s. It is clearly seen
that the maximum temperature occurs in the range
of 0.2 to 0.4mm located within the porcelain layer
near the interface. The minimum temperature is at
the surface of porcelain layer similar to that

mentioned above in Fig. 6. It is seen that for a

thinner specimen the temperature will decrease
more quickly if other conditions are the same, such
as material properties, cooling procedure, heat
transfer coefficient. The largest difference between
temperatures at a specific time step is 56C.

(a) Temperature distribution at 25s, 50s

(b) Temperature distribution at 75s, 100s

Fig. 7: Temperature profiles in the 4mm bilayer plate at selected timeframes with rapid cooling: (a) selected
time at 25s, 50s; (b) selected time at 75s, 100s
experimental and numerical profiles of surface
temperature of both mono- and bi-layer specimens
vs time are not perfectly matched. The mismatching
may be caused by temperature-dependent
convective heat transfer coefficient, temperaturedependent specific heat in the glass transition
temperature range or delay of thermocouple reading
of temperature. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the
convective heat transfer coefficient applied on the
surfaces of core layer and porcelain layer is
different. The reason for this phenomenon is the
cooling process.

DISCUSSION
In this study, the convection heat transfer
coefficients generated from numerical simulation
for different cooling procedures are average values
based on experimental results. The coefficients
finally used to distinguish different cooling
procedures are lower than those from the literature.
These values are not unique and constant, because
they are strongly dependent on various other
conditions. For free normal convection cooling, the
heat transfer coefficient is a temperature-dependent
coefficient, which can be a function of the
temperature difference [18]. For this reason, the
46

Zhongpu Zhang, Qing Li, Wei Li and Michael Swain

In the thermo-coupled measurement experiment,

the ambient air temperature at the core layer side is
higher than that at the surface of the porcelain layer.

REFERENCE
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(2008): 1352-1361.
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[83], 2, (2000), 216-222.
5. P.V. Von Steyern, All-ceramic fixed partial
dentures: Studies on aluminium oxide- and
zirconium dioxide-based ceramic systems,
Swed. Dent. J. Suppl., Vol. [173], (2005), 1-69.
6. I. Sailer, A. Feher, F. Filser, LJ. Gauckler, H.
Luthy, CHF. Hammerle, Five-year clinical
results of zirconia frameworks for posterior
fixed partial dentures, Int. J. Prosthodont., Vol.
[20], 4, (2007), 383-388.
7. C. Larsson, P.V. von Steyern, B. Sunzel, K.
Nilner, All-ceramic two- and five-unit implantsupported reconstructions. A randomized,
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[30], 2, (2006), 45-53.
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Hochstedler, S.E. Mohamed, S. Billiot, D.E.
Mercante, The efficacy of posterior three-unit
zirconium-oxide-based ceramic fixed partial
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237-44.
9. P.H. DeHoff, K.J. Anusavice, Tempering
stresses in feldspathic porcelain, J. Den. Res.,
Vol. [68], 2, (1989), 134-138.
10. P.H. DeHoff, K.J. Anusavice, S.B. Vontivillu,
Analysis of temperin stresses in metalceramic disks, J. Dent. Res., Vol. [75], 2,
(1996), 743-751.
11. K. Asaoka, J.A. Tesk, Transient and residual
stress in dental porcelains as affected by
cooling rates, J. Dent. Mater., Vol. [8], 1,
(1989), 9-25.
12. K. Asaoka, N. Kuwayama, J.A. Tesk,
Influence of tempering method on residual
stress in dental porcelain, J. Den. Res., Vol.
[71], 9, (1992), 1623-1627.
13. R. Gardon, Thermal tempering of glass,
Elasticity and Strength in Glasses, in: Glass
Science and Technology, Volume 5, Academic
Press, New York, (1980), 144-216.
14. B. Hojjatie, Thermal tempering of layered
ceramic structures, Ph.D. Thesis, University
of Florida, USA, (1990).

The glass transition temperature of each material is

not unique value. Transformation temperature from
manufacturers specification was 603C for Vitadur
Alpha veneering porcelain and 600C for Vita VM9.
However, as shown in Fig. 4, Tg shifted to a higher
temperature for the rapid cooling. In contract, with
the slow cooling process, Tg shifted to a lower
temperature.
As shown in Fig. 5, the temperature variation
mainly depends on the specific heat and material
density, not related on thermal conductivity.
Thermal conductivity is an important factor in
thermal conduction heat transfer. If thermal
conductivity is larger with a thinner specimen, more
heat will be transferred by thermal conduction.
Therefore, it is not crucial in the convective heat
transfer problems.
The maximum temperature occurs close to the
location of core layer near the interface in Fig. 6.
As illustrated in Fig. 7, the maximum temperature
is at the area of porcelain layer. Since the flexure
strength of zirconia core layer is higher than that of
the porcelain layer, so that with the rapid cooling, a
thicker specimen may generate higher thermal
stresses and may fracture more easily.
In further study, the effects from thermal residual
stresses induced by the temperature change,
viscoelastic properties of porcelain from sintering
temperature to glass transition temperature,
mismatched thermo-mechanical material properties,
such as temperature-dependent coefficient of
thermal expansion, modulus of elastic, will be
considered.

CONCLUSIONS
The heat transfer coefficients for convective
cooling procedures are not unique and constant.
The experimental and numerical results conclude
that glass transition temperature of dental ceramics
is not unique. Higher values of Tg are being
observed for rapid cooling, and lower values of Tg
for slow cooling. In convective heat transfer
simulations, thermal conductivity is not an
important material property, but it is a significant
factor in conduction heat transfer. With the rapid
cooling, a thicker bi-layered specimen may fracture
more easily, its fracture parameter as a mixed
model crack.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The support from Australian Research Council
(ARC) is grateful.

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Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society Volume 45[2], 2009, 40-48

15. P.H.
DeHoff,
K.J.
Anusavice,
N.
Gtzen,Viscoelastic finite element analysis
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