Study on the optical quality and strength of glass edges after the grinding and polishing process

Glass edges result from cutting glass sheets and a further optional finishing. The mechanical interference into the brittle material glass causes flaws and cracks at the edge surface. Those defects have an influence on the strength of the whole glazing. Within the scope of a research project at the Institute of Building Construction from the Technische Universitat Dresden, the grinding and polishing process is examined in terms of characteristic visible effects on the glass edge and the edge strength. Thereby a special focus of the research project is the impact of various polishing cup wheels for the chamfer surface of annealed glass. The article presents some basics about the processing steps of glass edges surfaces, introduces the considered grinding and polishing cup wheels and gives an overview of the performed experimental examinations. A microscopic analysis enables a characterisation of typical defects at the surfaces. Furthermore, four-point bending tests are performed to determine the bending tensile stresses at failure. The combination of both methods enables an analysis of the fracture-causing defect before destruction and a correlation between the optical surface quality and the bending tensile stresses. Additionally, the microscopy could be used to support the adjustment of a grinding machine and control reproducible edge qualities. The evaluation shows that a special development of polishing cup wheels for the chamfer can improve the surface quality and consequently increases the edge strength.