Title: Strengthening of borosilicate glass by ion exchange for advanced ballistic impact behaviour

Authors: Deok-Lae Ahn; Gyu-In Shim; Seong-Hwan Kim; Se-Young Choi; Jong-Kyoo Park

Addresses: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea ' Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea ' Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea ' Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea ' The 4th R&D Institute, Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Daejeon 305-152, South Korea

Abstract: Borosilicate glass was reinforced via ion exchange to improve the ballistic impact resistance of transparent bulletproof materials. The optimal heat treatment conditions of ion-exchanged borosilicate glass with thicknesses of 4, 6 and 8 mm were 12, 15 and 17 min at 560°C, respectively. The flexural strengths of the reinforced glasses were 0.783 ± 0.018, 0.810 ± 0.014 and 0.835 ± 0.013 GPa, respectively. This improved on that of the parent material by a factor of 2.5. Light transmittance exceeded 91.1%. The bulletproof materials comprised one polycarbonate sheet, two multilayer defence films and strengthened glass. The thickness of the bulletproof material decreased by ~18%, from 28.80 mm for the original glass to 23.65 mm for the strengthened glass. The ballistic limit velocity improved by 14% from 851 (V₅₀) to 972 (V₀) m/s. The light transmittance of the material was 86.2%, confirming its potential use as a transparent bulletproof material.

Keywords: borosilicate glass; ion exchange; bulletproof materials; energy absorption; light transmittance; ballistic impact; impact behaviour; impact resistance; transparent materials; heat treatment; flexural strength; reinforced glass; polycarbonate sheet; glass thickness; ballistic limit velocity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2016.077077

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2016 Vol.13 No.4/5/6, pp.265 - 277

Published online: 20 Jun 2016 *

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