A Molecular Mechanism for Stress Corrosion in Vitreous Silica

The mechanical strength of most glasses and ceramics decreases with time under static loading in an ambient environment. This strength loss is associated with slow growth of preexisting surface flaws due to stress corrosion by water from the surrounding environment. We studied stress corrosion in vi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Ceramic Society 1983-04, Vol.66 (4), p.284-288
Main Authors: MICHALSKE, TERRY A., FREIMAN, STEPHEN W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The mechanical strength of most glasses and ceramics decreases with time under static loading in an ambient environment. This strength loss is associated with slow growth of preexisting surface flaws due to stress corrosion by water from the surrounding environment. We studied stress corrosion in vitreous silica exposed to water and several nonaqueous environments; environments which enhance stress‐corrosion crack growth in silica contain active groups with electron donor sites on one end and proton donor sites at the other. These results suggest a detailed chemical model for the interaction of the environment with mechanically strained bonds in the solid at the tip of a crack. The proposed model for stress‐corrosion crack growth also has implications for the long‐term strength behavior of a wide variety of brittle materials.
ISSN:0002-7820
1551-2916
DOI:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1983.tb15715.x