Inter-relationships between composition and near surface mechanical properties of silicate glasses

Abstract The surfaces of silicate glasses undergo hydration in normal atmospheric environments. The hydrated region will have different mechanical properties to the bulk glass and this work assesses the inter-relationships between composition and the near surface mechanical properties of silicate glasses through the use of nanoindentation. The effect of glass composition and hydration on the near surface mechanical properties is considered for poorly and highly durable silicate glasses. With poorly durable glasses the hydrated layer depth is much greater than the indentation depth and thus the results obtained on these glasses are used to help interpret the more complex results obtained on more durable glasses where the hydrated layer is smaller than the indentation depth. Based on the results the application of nanoindentation for measuring the near surface mechanical properties of glasses and studying hydration is discussed.