Prediction of stress profiles in ion exchanged glasses

Residual stress profiles are important for controlling the fracture behavior of ion exchanged glass. In the current study, the residual stress profile in single-step and two-step ion exchanged glass was calculated from the concentration profile and the composition-dependent stress relaxation behavior of glass. The dilation coefficient, used for the calculation, was determined from the measured stress profile in low-temperature ion exchanged glass, and it was found to be composition dependent. The calculated stress profiles in ion exchanged glass processed under typical conditions have reasonable agreement with the measured stress profiles. Therefore, using this methodology, optimization of the processing conditions for any particular requirement of the fracture behavior is possible.