2005 Volume 46 Issue 10 Pages 2241-2245
Influences of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the impact value for soda glass were studied by a standard Charpy impact test. EB irradiation below 0.0432 MGy, which was one of short-time treatments of dry process at low temperature, increased impact values of the glass. As the EB irradiation generated dangling bonds at the weaker-bonded metal–oxygen atomic pairs in the soda glass, partial relaxation occurred at points of residual strain near dangling bonds in the network structure mainly constructed with the stronger-bonded metal–oxygen pairs. If the inter-atomic distance of the stronger-bonded metal–oxygen pairs became to be optimum potential curves of the sodium glass, the relaxation should increase the bonding energy of the network structure. Evidently, the increased impact value was mainly due to an increase in the bonding energy for the stronger-bonded metal (Si or Al)–oxygen atomic pairs in the atomic network structure, as well as a relaxation of the network structure.