Decoupling Microstructural and Residual Stress Effects on Glass-Ceramic Toughening

Barium disilicate (BaO.2SiO 2 = BS2) is one of the very few stoichiometric glasses that allows for accurate control of the desired microstructure via thermal treatment, making it a (scarcely studied) model system for microstructure-property studies. Here, we performed a systematic research work on the variation in hardness, elastic modulus, fracture strength, and toughness as a function of the crystalline volumetric fraction, crystal size, and residual stresses in BS2 glass-ceramics (GC). These microstructural features were independently modified; the average crystal diameter varied from 5 to 100 μm and the crystallized volumetric fraction from 0 to 68%. The internal residual stresses in the crystals, are tensile in this system . Samples with an average spherulite size above 30 µm showed spontaneously fractured crystals due to the residual stresses. The samples with 5 and 10 µm spherulites have not cracked because the spherulites have a high volume fraction of residual glass (74%) and moderate internal stresses (40-70 GPa). The fracture toughness, K IC , increased with the spherulite size and volume fraction. However, the residual glass inside the spherulites rendered crack bowing, bridging, and trapping ineffective. The variation of K IC with the crystallized volume fraction is similar for GCs with different crystal sizes. Also, a comparison with a lithium silicate glass-ceramic showing compressive residual stresses yielded similar results. These combined findings indicate that the crystallization of a tougher phase is the crucial parameter controlling fracture toughness in these materials. The results with this model material can be extended to design novel strong and tough glass-ceramics.