Derivation of an explicit equation on size dependence of temperature step for cracking of glass materials by considering the crack formation as a polymer gelation process

Abstract One question that has never been considered before is if a glass plate cracks when one side is at temperature T 1 and the other is at T 1 + Δ T b , will the same plate also crack when one side is at T 2 and the other is at T 2 + Δ T b , where T 2 T 1 ? In this work, we constructed the first explicit equation on the size dependence of the temperature step for cracking of glass materials by considering the cracking mechanism as a gelation process in a polymer system. It was also demonstrated that the cracking does not depend solely on the thickness and temperature step, but also on the temperature of each surface. We also propose a new method for estimating the temperature step for cracking in glass materials. This method is the extrapolation of crack densities measured at various temperatures. The equation predictions are in good agreement with the observed data.