Effect of normal scratch load and HF etching on the mechanical behavior of annealed and chemically strengthened aluminosilicate glass

Micro-cracks generated by hard body scratch are a major cause of strength decrease for silicate glass. The influence of normal scratch load on the cracking patterns and flexural strength of annealed glass (AG) and chemically strengthened glass (CSG) were studied. With the increase of the normal load, the load capacity of scratched AG specimens decreased to about 40 MPa at 20gf immediately. However, the residual strength of CSG decreased to a steady value of 145 MPa as the scratch load increased to 500gf. Then the effect of hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching on the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the 500gf scratched glass were investigated. After 8min (for CSG) and 16 min (for AG) acid treatment, the flexural strength of CSG and AG increased to a considerable value of 900 MPa, which is 3.6 and 5.5 times higher than the flexural strength of undamaged specimens. Microscopic observations show that the blunting and eliminating of median cracks as well as the formation of new surfaces are the main causes of strength enhancement.