Field strength effect on elastoplastic behavior of aluminoborosilicate glass: I. Elastic moduli and indentation size effect

The modifier field strength (FS) is believed to play an important role in determining the elastic–plastic responses of aluminoborosilicate (ABS) glasses, but its effect is not well understood. Three novel alkali and three alkaline earth (AE) ABS compositions were created for this study which is the first part of two studies that explored the elastoplastic responses of these glasses. Six compositions were designed using different network modifiers (NWMs) to cover a range of cation FS. The glasses were also designed such that the concentrations of NWM and Al₂O₃ were similar, which maximized the three-coordinated boron fraction in the network. It is well known that modifier FS can affect the coordination number (CN) of Al and B in an ABS glass structure, for example, a higher FS modifier can promote B³ → B⁴ and higher [Al^5,6], but the degree of this depends on network former (NWF) ratios. Previous work used solid-state NMR spectroscopic analysis on the current glasses to find that there was variation between [B⁴] and [Al⁴] between the two glass series (alkali vs. AE) but that was attributed to synthesis factors and no trend with FS was associated with the varying NWF CN. Further, ²⁹Si ssNMR showed no evidence of NBOs which made sense based on composition. The conclusion, therefore, was that there was a far greater correlation with modifier FS for the increased mechanical and physical properties rather than the CN of Al and B. Part I of the current work focused on the elastic moduli, Poisson's ratio, the indentation size effect (ISE), and the bow-in parameter. This part laid out the foundation to investigate the intersection of these elastoplastic properties with hardness and crack resistance as a function of NWM FS. Results showed that: (i) the Young's, bulk, and shear moduli increased with modifier FS, whereas Poisson's ratio did not trend with FS; (ii) the alkali glasses had a significantly higher magnitudes of ISE compared to the AE glasses; and (iii) the bow-in parameter was load dependent and decreased with modifier FS at the highest indentation load.