Structure/Property Relationships in Inorganic Glasses

从高附加值的光学元件到简单的建筑材料，不同成分的玻璃应用范围非常广泛。同时，玻璃的生产成本相对较高，特别是当考虑到熔化所需的能量生产的额外环境成本时。这些成本导致开发更强、更轻、性能更好、可以在较低温度下制备的玻璃的持续压力，但玻璃结构的复杂性阻碍了许多开发将成分与性能相关的简单设计规则的尝试。 我们在这里提出了一个程序，将组合物和结构的玻璃性能，专注于光学和结构的应用。我们将确定当施加应力时玻璃如何扭曲图像，并通过这项工作设计新的玻璃组合物，其中扭曲在整个光谱中最小。我们还将尝试开发在光谱的红外部分无失真的玻璃，用于通信技术。关于玻璃的结构应用，我们将确定原子键合、刚度、强度和耐久性之间的相关性，以尝试开发可以在较低温度下制备的更强的玻璃，从而可以实现节能。为了研究玻璃的结构，我们将使用各种工具，主要是光散射和磁共振。我们还将使用先进的计算方法对这些影响进行建模，并为此开发新的计算工具。

Glasses of different compositions are used in a remarkably wide variety of applications, from high-value-added optical elements to simple construction materials. At the same time, the cost of production of glass is relatively high, especially when the additional environmental costs of the energy production necessary for melting are taken into account. These costs lead to continued pressure to develop stronger, lighter, better-performing glasses that can be prepared at lower temperatures, but the complexity of glass structure has thwarted many attempts to develop simple design rules relating composition to properties. We propose here a program to relate composition and structure to glass properties, focusing on both optical and structural applications. We will determine how glass distorts images when stress is applied, and through this work design new glass compositions in which distortions are minimal across the spectrum. We will also attempt to develop glass that is distortion-free in the infrared part of the spectrum, for use in communications technologies. Concerning structural applications of glass, we will determine the correlations between atomic bonding, stiffness, strength, and durability, in an attempt to develop stronger glasses that can be prepared at lower temperatures, so that energy savings may be realized. To study the structures of the glasses we will make we will employ a variety of tools, primarily light scattering and magnetic resonance. We will also model the effects using advanced computational methods, and develop new computational tools for this purpose.