Strength in Glass: Design Contest

ends May 1, 2007
Strength in Glass Design Contest
Assume: Glass at 50 times today's strength!

What new products could be envisioned?

Currently, most of the glasses we use are multicomponent silicates.

Engineering designers typically assume the "practical strengths" of these materials to be ~10,000 psi (70 MPa).

Over the years, glass scientists and engineers have found different ways to strengthen glass.

For example, thermal tempering is a process that can strengthen glass by a factor of two or three.

Another process, called ion exchange or chemical strengthening can increase glass strength by a factor of 10.

Although these strengthening processes enhance the practical strength and mechanical reliability by 2-10X, they are not applicable to all products.

Thus, there is a drive to enhance the intrinsic strength of glass by 50X through further composition or process optimization.

Fortunately the 50X increase is very possible because it is still substantially below the theoretical strength of glass!

Prepare a concept paper, no more than 4 typed pages (single spaced) including figures and tables, which focuses on one opportunity for, or potential impact of, products and components made from a glass whose practical strength (failure stress) is 500,000 psi (3.5 GPa).