Relative Impact Of Manufacturing Vs Service Flaws On Design Of Glass Articles

The preservation of intrinsic strength of glass requires flaw-free surfaces and their protection from further abrasion with abrasion-resistant coatings applied immediately following the manufacture of glass articles. By definition, intrinsic strength is achievable only in an inert environment. The presence of manufacturing flaws reduces the intrinsic strength by orders of magnitude and the generation of new flaws and/or propagation of manufacturing flaws in non-inert service environment causes further reduction in usable strength. The impact of both manufacturing and service flaws on strength and fatigue behaviour of silicate glass in inert and non-inert environments is discussed.