Influence Of Weather Conditions On Glass Properties

The aim of this study is to establish some of the most important natural factors that can lead to the corrosion of glass. Unlike most materials, glass is very resistant to corrosion and in a sense it can be thought of as "corrosion-proof". Nevertheless, under certain conditions glass is chemically attacked. The main environmental parameters examined are: temperature fluctuations, acidic environments, airborne pollutants (sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide), UV-radiation and relative humidity. Under certain exposure conditions, its optical properties, chemistry and structure are modified by different weathering processes. The extent to which the glass weathers depends strongly on the fate of cations which either occupy the places of hydrogen ions and stop the corrosion or react with airborne pollutants such as CO2 and SO2 and form new crystalline phases. The exposure of glass in a dry environment instead of a humid one could impede glass decay since the time of hydration is inversely proportional to hydration rate squared. Moreover, from a chemical perspective the glass appears unweathered if the hydrogen ions sites are saturated with the cations released from the non-bridging oxygen sites.