The fracture of glass spheres

Impact and compression tests have been carried out on soda–lime glass spheres in the diameter range of 0.4–12.7 mm. The paper describes the forms of failure and their variation with diameter and with impact velocity. At the lowest velocities, fractures are mainly due to a brittle–elastic response, with typical Hertzian ring and cone crack systems. At higher velocities or loads, inelastic deformation (densification, flow, or intense local fracturing and crushing) under the impact site leads to characteristic patterns of fragmentation arising from radial, lateral and median cracks.