Volume fluctuations in potassium silicate glass studied by molecular dynamics

Abstract

Potassium-silicate glass, 0.05K 2O·0.95SiO 2, was prepared by molecular dynamics under three different regimes (cooling rates, simulating box sizes) to study their influence to temperature regimes of volume fluctuations. Partial volume fluctuations (VF) were introduced with the help of Voronoi polyhedra tessellation. Dynamic and static fluctuations were suggested as a measure for time- and space-related fluctuations. Separation of the dynamic and static VFs anticipates glass transition. The glass transition was related with the change of the temperature course of the static VFs. The dynamic VFs changed their temperature regimes well below the glass transition and the transition temperature was related with the change of the transport regime. Glass transition cages the atoms but Voronoi polyhedra are definitely shaped well below the glass transition temperature.