Role of shear on strength and damage evolution in soda-lime glass under high dynamic pressures

Silica glasses, such as soda-lime glass (SLG), have found wide ranging applications in engineering due to their excellent optical properties, high strength, and relatively low cost. In such applications, SLG may be subjected to intense dynamic loading due to high/hyper-velocity impact and therefore necessitates understanding of the dynamic shear strength and kinetics for the development of constitutive models. However, while several investigations have generated Hugoniots for silicate glasses, none appear to have measured shearing resistance at pressures above ∼20 GPa. In this study, the role of pressure and strain rate on the shearing resistance of soda-lime glass is explored using sandwich configuration high pressure-pressure shear plate impact (HP-PSPI) experiments. These experiments are conducted at pressures ranging from 14 − 42 GPa and strain rates of 105 − 106 s−1, and analyzed using finite element simulations incorporating a modified Johnson-Holmquist (JH-2) material model. The yield strength of SLG is observed to decrease as a function of pressure, which is reminiscent of the evolution of shear strength in granular media at high pressures. This observation suggests a probable shear-induced damage progression from intact material to granular matter in SLG at high pressures.