Devitrification Of Fused Silica Research Articles

Retraction Note to: Multi-Length Scale Analysis of the Effect of Fused-Silica Pre-shocking on its Tendency for Devitrification

Recent studies have suggested that impact-induced devitrification of fused silica, or more specifically formation of high-density stishovite, can significantly improve ballistic-penetration resistance of fused silica, the material which is used in transparent armor. The studies have also shown that in order for stishovite to form during a ballistic impact event, very high projectile kinetic energy normalized by the projectile/fused-silica target-plate contact area must accompany such an event. Otherwise fused-silica devitrification, if taking place, does not substantially improve the material ballistic-penetration resistance. In the present work, all-atom molecular-level computations are carried out in order to establish if pre-shocking of fused-silica target-plates (to form stishovite) and subsequent unloading (to revert stishovite to the material amorphous structure) can increase fused silica’s propensity for stishovite formation during a ballistic impact. Towards that end, molecular-level computational procedures are developed to simulate both the pre-shocking treatment of the fused-silica target-plate and its subsequent impact by a solid right-circular cylindrical projectile. The results obtained clearly revealed that when strong-enough shockwaves are used in the fused-silica target-plate pre-shocking procedure, the propensity of fused silica for stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact is increased, as is the associated ballistic-penetration resistance. To rationalize these findings, a detailed post-processing microstructural analysis of the pre-shocked material is employed. The results obtained suggest that fused silica pre-shocked with shockwaves of sufficient strength retain some memory/embryos of stishovite, and these embryos facilitate stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact.

Retraction Note to: All-Atom Molecular-Level Analysis of the Ballistic-Impact-Induced Densification and Devitrification of Fused Silica

All-atom molecular-level computations are carried out to infer the dynamic response and material microstructure/topology changes of fused silica subjected to ballistic impact by a hard projectile. The analysis was focused on the investigation of specific aspects of the dynamic response and of the microstructural changes such as the deformation of highly sheared and densified regions and the conversion of amorphous fused silica to SiO2 crystalline allotropic modifications (in particular, α-quartz and stishovite). The microstructural changes in question were determined by carrying out a post-processing atom-coordination procedure. This procedure suggested the formation of stishovite (and perhaps α-quartz) within fused silica during ballistic impact. To rationalize the findings obtained, the all-atom molecular-level computational analysis is complemented by a series of quantum-mechanics density functional theory (DFT) computations. The latter computations enable determination of the relative potential energies of the fused silica, α-quartz, and stishovite under ambient pressure (i.e., under their natural densities) as well as under imposed (as high as 50 GPa) pressures (i.e., under higher densities) and shear strains. In addition, the transition states associated with various fused-silica devitrification processes were identified. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with their respective experimental counterparts.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Multi-Length Scale Analysis of the Effect of Fused-Silica Pre-shocking on its Tendency for Devitrification

Recent studies have suggested that impact-induced devitrification of fused silica, or more specifically formation of high-density stishovite, can significantly improve ballistic-penetration resistance of fused silica, the material which is used in transparent armor. The studies have also shown that in order for stishovite to form during a ballistic impact event, very high projectile kinetic energy normalized by the projectile/fused-silica target-plate contact area must accompany such an event. Otherwise fused-silica devitrification, if taking place, does not substantially improve the material ballistic-penetration resistance. In the present work, all-atom molecular-level computations are carried out in order to establish if pre-shocking of fused-silica target-plates (to form stishovite) and subsequent unloading (to revert stishovite to the material amorphous structure) can increase fused silica’s propensity for stishovite formation during a ballistic impact. Towards that end, molecular-level computational procedures are developed to simulate both the pre-shocking treatment of the fused-silica target-plate and its subsequent impact by a solid right-circular cylindrical projectile. The results obtained clearly revealed that when strong-enough shockwaves are used in the fused-silica target-plate pre-shocking procedure, the propensity of fused silica for stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact is increased, as is the associated ballistic-penetration resistance. To rationalize these findings, a detailed post-processing microstructural analysis of the pre-shocked material is employed. The results obtained suggest that fused silica pre-shocked with shockwaves of sufficient strength retain some memory/embryos of stishovite, and these embryos facilitate stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact.

The effect of fused-silica pre-shocking on its devitrification propensity and ballistic resistance: an all-atom molecular-level analysis

Recent studies have suggested that impact-induced devitrification of fused silica, or more specifically formation of high-density stishovite, can significantly improve ballistic-penetration resistance of fused silica, the material which is used in transparent armor. The studies have also shown that in order for stishovite to form during a ballistic-impact event, very high projectile kinetic energy normalized by the projectile/fused-silica target-plate contact area must accompany such an event. Otherwise fused-silica devitrification, if taking place, does not substantially improve the material ballistic-penetration resistance. In the present work, all-atom molecular-level computations are carried out in order to establish if pre-shocking of fused-silica target-plates (to form stishovite) and subsequent unloading (to revert stishovite to the material amorphous structure) can increase fused silica’s propensity for stishovite formation during a ballistic impact. Towards that end, molecular-level computational procedures are developed to simulate both the pre-shocking treatment of the fused-silica target-plate and its subsequent impact by a solid right-circular cylindrical projectile. The results obtained clearly revealed that when strong-enough shockwaves are used in the fused-silica target-plate pre-shocking procedure, the propensity of fused silica for stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact is increased, as is the associated ballistic-penetration resistance. To rationalize these findings, a detailed post-processing microstructural analysis of the pre-shocked material is employed. The results obtained suggest that fused silica pre-shocked with shockwaves of sufficient strength retain some memory/embryos of stishovite, and these embryos facilitate stishovite formation during the subsequent ballistic impact.

The Effect of High-Pressure Devitrification and Densification on Ballistic-Penetration Resistance of Fused Silica

Recent experimental and molecular-level computational analyses have indicated that fused silica, when subjected to pressures of several tens of GPa, can experience irreversible devitrification and densification. Such changes in the fused-silica molecular-level structure are associated with absorption and/or dissipation of the strain energy acquired by fused silica during high-pressure compression. This finding may have important practical consequences in applications for fused silica such as windshields and windows of military vehicles, portholes in ships, ground vehicles, spacecraft, etc. In the present work, our prior molecular-level computational results pertaining to the response of fused silica to high pressures (and shear stresses) are used to enrich a continuum-type constitutive model (that is, the so-called Johnson-Holmquist-2, JH2, model) for this material. Since the aforementioned devitrification and permanent densification processes modify the response of fused silica to the pressure as well as to the deviatoric part of the stress, changes had to be made in both the JH2 equation of state and the strength model. To assess the potential improvements in respect to the ballistic-penetration resistance of this material brought about by the fused-silica devitrification and permanent densification processes, a series of transient non-linear dynamics finite-element analyses of the transverse impact of a fused-silica test plate with a solid right-circular cylindrical steel projectile were conducted. The results obtained revealed that, provided the projectile incident velocity and, hence, the attendant pressure, is sufficiently high, fused silica can undergo impact-induced devitrification, which improves its ballistic-penetration resistance.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: All-Atom Molecular-Level Analysis of the Ballistic-Impact-Induced Densification and Devitrification of Fused Silica

All-atom molecular-level computations are carried out to infer the dynamic response and material microstructure/topology changes of fused silica subjected to ballistic impact by a hard projectile. The analysis was focused on the investigation of specific aspects of the dynamic response and of the microstructural changes such as the deformation of highly sheared and densified regions and the conversion of amorphous fused silica to SiO2 crystalline allotropic modifications (in particular, α-quartz and stishovite). The microstructural changes in question were determined by carrying out a post-processing atom-coordination procedure. This procedure suggested the formation of stishovite (and perhaps α-quartz) within fused silica during ballistic impact. To rationalize the findings obtained, the all-atom molecular-level computational analysis is complemented by a series of quantum-mechanics density functional theory (DFT) computations. The latter computations enable determination of the relative potential energies of the fused silica, α-quartz, and stishovite under ambient pressure (i.e., under their natural densities) as well as under imposed (as high as 50 GPa) pressures (i.e., under higher densities) and shear strains. In addition, the transition states associated with various fused-silica devitrification processes were identified. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with their respective experimental counterparts.

Densification and Devitrification of Fused Silica Induced by Ballistic Impact: A Computational Investigation

A molecular‐level computational investigation is carried out to determine the dynamic response and material topology changes of fused silica subjected to ballistic impact by a hard projectile. The analysis was focused on the investigation of specific aspects of the dynamic response and of the topological changes such as the deformation of highly sheared and densified regions, and the conversion of amorphous fused silica to SiO2 crystalline polymorphs (in particular, α‐quartz and stishovite). The topological changes in question were determined by carrying out a postprocessing atom‐coordination procedure. This procedure suggested the formation of stishovite (and perhaps α‐quartz) within fused silica during ballistic impact. To rationalize the findings obtained, the all‐atom molecular‐level computational analysis is complemented by a series of quantum‐mechanics density functional theory (DFT) computations. The latter computations enable determination of the relative potential energies of the fused silica, α‐quartz and stishovite, under ambient pressure (i.e., under their natural densities) as well as under imposed (as high as 50 GPa) pressures (i.e., under higher densities) and shear strains. In addition, the transition states associated with various fused‐silica devitrification processes were identified. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with their respective experimental counterparts.

Spherulite-shaped cristobalite by fused silica devitrification

A new form of cristobalite, collected in the form of spheroidal particles as the result of hot corrosion of clear fused silica ampoules, has been studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The transparent or translucent spherulites have a round but flattened shape, one vortex and a core made of nanosheets, perpendicular to the surface, organized in a nearly radial pattern. The electron diffraction study evidenced a single phase material with a pseudo-cubic supercell ( a sp ≈ b sp ≈ c sp ≈14.1 Å and a F-type centred lattice) corresponding to an eight-fold multiplicity of the β cristobalite cell. The TEM study evidenced twinning domains and intergrown polytypes, similar to those usually observed in the β→ α cristobalite-type transition and cristobalite→tridymite modifications. A formation mechanism of these cristobalite spherulites is proposed on the basis of a salt attack by a doping effect and the formation of droplets from a liquid state of silica.