Partial volumes and volume fluctuations in potassium-silicate glass: Molecular dynamic simulations

Partial volumes and partial volume fluctuations were studied by means of Voronoi polyhedra (VP) in binary potassium-silicate glass simulated by molecular dynamics. The volume fluctuation of VP turned to be a sensitive indicator of the structural changes induced by conditions, under which glass was prepared. Volume fluctuations distinguish between the static (given by the frozen structural disorder) and dynamic (given by kinetics) contributions to the overall fluctuations. The glass transition was identified with the point where the dynamic volume fluctuation achieve the space-related fluctuation frozen in glass.