Are INSIGHTs thermal expansion calculations accurate?
No, these are not absolute numbers, they are relative. There are many factors that influence thermal expansion that are beyond calculation (e.g. non-linear contributions, oxide interactions, devitrification or incomplete melting). However there is a reasonable enough correspondence between INSIGHT’s predictions and actual measured expansions in many systems and in a relative sense (if all other process and material factors are similar). If INSIGHT predicts that one glaze will have a significantly higher expansion than another of the same type and treated in the same way then this is likely true. Thus you can use INSIGHT to move a glaze’s expansion in the right direction (then you can test to fine tune it).
