Investigation of the Effects of Mechanical Washing Resistance and Weather Conditions on Chemically Strengthened Crystal Glasses

The chemical tempering method is a versatile process applicable to glass of various sizes, complex shapes, and thin structures (up to 0.5 mm). In this study, the effects of mechanical washing resistance and weather conditions on both untempered and chemically tempered glass were experimentally explored. Tempered samples exhibit an average Compressive Stress (CS) of 413 MPa (±8 MPa), a Layer Depth (DOL) averaging 20 µm (±2 µm), and Central Stress (CT) averaging 9 MPa (±0.6 MPa). Despite this SEM images show no visible impact on surface morphology post-tempering. However, EDS spectra indicate an increased potassium ratio, confirming successful chemical tempering. The hardness of chemically tempered glass is 6.16 GPa (±0.18), significantly higher than untempered glass at 5.53 GPa (±0.12). In the Free Fall Test, untempered glass drops an average of 16 cm, while tempered glass surpasses 28 cm with no breakage. During the Bending Test, untempered glass bends 6 degrees on average, whereas tempered glass exceeds 13 degrees without breaking. Chemically tempered glass displays enhanced resistance to hydrolysis, with no significant difference noted in dishwasher resistance. Overall, tempered glass demonstrates superior breakage resistance under specified test conditions.