Strength-Flaw Relationship of Corroded Pristine Silica Studied by Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

ABSTRACTGlass strength is controlled by microscopic surface flaws. Attempts to quantify the strengthflaw relationship for corroded silica fibers have been unfruitful, principally because of the difficulty in identifying the nanometer-sized, strength-controlling flaws on a uniformly corroded surface. In this paper, studies on corrosion of pristine silica optical fibers by HF vapor are presented. The HF-treated fibers exhibit strength degradation and contain well-defined, spatially-resolved surface flaws, which are characterized with an atomic force microscope. Excellent strength agreement is obtained for all chemically corroded fibers when the flaws are modeled as partially embedded hemispheres (i.e., blunt flaws). The implication of these results to the corrosion and fatigue process of silica glasses is discussed, since all previous analyses have assumed the strength-controlling flaws to be sharp.