EXPERIMENTAL STUDY AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF

COMPRESSION MOLDING PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING

PRECISION ASPHERICAL GLASS LENSES

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

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the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate

School of The Ohio State University

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By
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Anurag Jain, M.S.

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The Ohio State University

2006

Dissertation Committee:
Approved by

Professor Allen Yi, Adviser

Professor Jose Castro ______________________________

Professor Prabhat Gupta Adviser

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Graduate Program
 UMI Number: 3220972

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UMI Microform 3220972

Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

ProQuest Information and Learning Company

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P.O. Box 1346
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 ABSTRACT

Aspherical glass lenses are increasingly being used in consumer products like high

power laser generators, digital cameras, projectors and scientific instruments. However,

conventional manufacturing processes are not suitable for medium to high volume

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production of aspherical glass optical elements. Recently, compression molding has

emerged as a promising alternative in which a glass gob or blank is pressed in a single

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operation into the shape of a finished lens. Annealing of the formed lens is required to
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achieve optical quality. The process is net shape, environment friendly and suitable for

high volume production. Further implementation of this innovative process is hindered

by technical challenges associated with curve conformance, tooling cost and mold life.
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This dissertation research seeks a fundamental understanding of the lens molding

process by adopting a combined experimental, analytical and numerical Finite Element

Method (FEM) approach. Preliminary experiments were performed involving molding of

a test aspherical glass lens on a commercial lens molding machine to study process

capability to manufacture an optic component within the desired specifications.

Experiments were also performed to determine the effect of different molding parameters

i.e. molding temperature, velocity and cooling rate on the final molded lens quality.

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 A compression molding machine was designed and built in the laboratory on which

viscoelastic glass material characterization was performed under lens molding conditions.

High frequency dynamic measurements using Brillouin light scattering technique were

performed to measure the elastic modulus of glass at lens molding temperatures. The

measured glass properties were used as input to the numerical simulation of cylinder

compression experiments as well as lens molding experiments. A numerical FEM

simulation model of lens molding was developed and predictions were compared with the

experiments. Additionally, a 1D analytical heat transfer model during lens annealing has

been presented that takes into account transient heat transfer at the glass-mold boundary.

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The possibility of implementing molding to make microlens array, freeform lens and
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diffractive lens has also been demonstrated.

Experimental results have showed that molding process is capable of producing

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precision glass lenses with shape and form accuracy comparable to lenses manufactured

using conventional abrasive techniques. Within the range investigated, the experiments
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did not show a significant influence of the molding parameters on the final lens quality.

The FEM simulation model incorporating stress and structural relaxation properties

showed excellent agreement of predicted lens curve shape with experimental

measurements. Additionally, numerical simulation was able to predict, residual stress in

the glass lens as a function of process parameters which shows that FEM can possibly be

used to predict, optimize and improve the performance of a lens molding process.

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DEDICATED TO MY BELOVED MOTHER

NEERJA JAIN
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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my adviser, Prof. Allen Yi, for providing me
with an opportunity to work under him and exposing me to a very exciting and futuristic
field of precision engineering. I would like to thank Prof. Yi for his trust, guidance,
enthusiasm and insight during my research. I also appreciate the suggestions, assistance

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and comments of other faculty members at OSU whom I had a chance to work with
during the course of this research: Prof. Jose Castro, Prof. Prabhat Gupta, Prof.
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Sooryakumar and Prof. Shivpuri. Especially, I am deeply obligated to Prof. Gupta for the
time he spent helping me with my doubts and patiently guiding me in the area of glass
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processing science. I also wish to thank my Masters adviser Prof. Taylan Altan for
letting me use ERC’s computing and office resources for my research. I acknowledge the
guidance I received from Dr. Vivek Badami who inspired me with his engineering sense
and clarity of thought during my internship at Corning Tropel.
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I thank Prof. Fritz Klocke, Dipl.-Ing. Axel Demmer and Dipl.-Ing. Guido Pongs at
Institute of Production Technology (IPT), Germany for providing some of the
experimental support reported in this research.

Sincere thanks are extended to all my colleagues and fellow PhD students, for their
suggestions and involvement in different parts of this research. Special thanks go to Greg
Firestone, Lei Li, Chunning Huang, Xipeng Xi, Hyunok Kim, and Yingyot Aue-u-lan.

In the end I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the
encouragement and moral support provided by my parents.

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 VITA

October 07, 1976……………………. Born – Bhilai, India

1998………………………………..... B.S. Mechanical Engineering,

Bangalore University, Bangalore, India

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1999 – 2000…………………………. Design Engineer,
Belliss India Limited, New Delhi, India
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2003…………………………………. M.S. Mechanical Engineering,
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
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2000 – 2003…………………………. Graduate Research Associate,
Engineering Research Center for Net Shape
Manufacturing (ERC/ NSM),
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
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2003 – 2006…………………………. Graduate Research Associate,

Industrial and Systems Engineering
Department,
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

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 PUBLICATIONS

Journal Publications

1. Jain, A., Yi, A. Y., Xipeng, X. and Sooryakumar, R., Finite Element Modeling
of Stress Relaxation in Glass Lens Moulding using Measured, Temperature-
Dependent Elastic Modulus and Viscosity Data of Glass, 2006, Institute of

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Physics: Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, Vol.
14, pp. 465-477.

2.
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Jain, A. and Yi, A. Y., 2005, Finite Element Modeling of Structural Relaxation
during Annealing of a Precision Molded Glass Lens, 2005, accepted, Journal of
Manufacturing Science and Engineering: Transactions of the ASME.
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3. Firestone, G. C., Jain, A. and Yi, A. Y., 2005, A Precision Laboratory
Apparatus for High Temperature Compression Molding of Glass Lenses, Review
of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 76, pp. 063101-1-063101-8.
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4. Jain, A., Firestone, G. C. and Yi, A. Y., 2005, Viscosity Measurement by

Cylindrical Compression for Numerical Modeling of Precision Lens Molding
Process, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 88, No. 9, pp. 2409-
2414.

5. Jain, A. and Yi, A. Y., 2005, Numerical Modeling of Viscoelastic Stress

Relaxation during Glass Lens Forming Process, Journal of the American
Ceramic Society, Vol. 88, No. 3, pp. 530-535.

6. Yi, A. Y. and Jain, A., 2005, Compression Molding of Aspherical Glass Lenses
- A Combined Experimental and Numerical Analysis, Journal of the American
Ceramic Society, Vol. 88, No. 3, pp. 579-586.

7. Yen, E., Jain, A., Chigurupati, P., Wu, W.-T. and Altan, T., 2004, Computer
Simulation of Orthogonal Cutting using a Tool with Multiple Coatings, Journal

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 of Machining Science and Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 305-326.

8. Yen, E., Jain, A. and Altan, T., 2004, A Finite Element Analysis of Machining
using Different Tool Edge Geometries, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, Vol. 146, No. 1, pp. 72-81.

Conference Publications
1. Jain, A., Li, L., Yi, A. Y., Klocke, F., Pongs, G. and Wang, F., 2005, A
Collaborative Research in Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation of
Compression Molding of Precision Glass Optical Elements, 20th Annual ASPE
Conference on Precision Engineering, Norfolk, VA.

2. Jain, A. and Yi, A. Y., 2004, Viscoelastic Stress Analysis of Precision

Aspherical Glass Lens Forming Process using Finite Element Method, 19th

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Annual ASPE Conference on Precision Engineering, Orlando, FL.

3. Jain, A. and Yi, A. Y., 2004, Numerical Simulation of Compression Molding of

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Aspherical Glass Lenses, 8th International NUMIFORM Conference on
Numerical Methods in Industrial Forming Processes, Columbus, OH.
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4. Xie, L., Schmidt, J., Soehner, J., Schmidt, C. and Jain, A., 2003, 2-D FEM
Estimate of Tool Wear in Milling Operation, 1st International Luxfem
Conference on Finite Element for Process, Luxembourg.

5. Yen, E., Jain, A. and Altan, T., 2003, Orthogonal Cutting Simulation of a Tool
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with Multiple Coating Layers, 6th CIRP International Workshop on Modeling of

Machining Operations, Canada.

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: Industrial and Systems Engineering

Studies in: Manufacturing processes, Precision engineering, Numerical modeling,

Glass science, Optical fabrication

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………........ ii

DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………… iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………... v

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VITA……………………………………………………………………………… vi

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………...
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LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………. xxii

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LIST OF SYMBOLS……………………………………………………………. xxiii

GLOSSARY…………………………………………………………………….... xxvi

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………. 1
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1.1. Glass versus Plastics as Lens Materials…………………………………… 2

1.2. Aspherical Glass Lenses: Benefits and Limitations……………………….. 3

1.3. Compression Molding of Aspherical Glass Lenses……………………….. 6

1.4. FEM Simulation of Lens Molding………………………………………… 11

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES………………………………… 13

CHAPTER 3 STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW…………………………… 15

3.1. Abrasive Optical Fabrication Techniques…………………………………. 15

3.1.1. Fresh Feed Polishing…………………………………………….. 16

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 3.1.2. Precision Grinding……………………………………………….. 17

3.1.3. Magnetorheological Finishing…………………………………… 19

3.1.4. Ion Beam Finishing……………………………………………… 20

3.1.5. “Precessions” Polishing………………………………………….. 21

3.2. Glass Rheology……………………………………………………………. 23

3.2.1 Mechanical Models for Describing Viscoelastic Glass Behavior.. 27

3.2.2. Linear Newtonian Shear Flow…………………………………… 29

3.3. Numerical Modeling of Glass Forming…………………………………… 31

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CHAPTER 4 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A LABORATORY
COMPRESSION MOLDING MACHNE…………………... 36
CHAPTER 5 VISCOSITY MEASUREMENT
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COMPRESSION……………………………………………... 42
5.1. Theory……………………………………………………………………... 42
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5.2. Experiments………………………………………………………………... 45

5.3. Experimental Results………………………………………………………. 47

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5.4. FEM Modeling of Cylinder Compression Experiments…………………... 52

5.5. FEM Results……………………………………………………………….. 54

5.6. Discussion…………………………………………………………………. 60

CHAPTER 6 BRILLOUIN LIGHT SCATTERING MEASUREMENTS

OF HIGH FREQUENCY ELASTIC MODULUS OF
GLASS………………………………………………………… 61
6.1. Theory……………………………………………………………………... 62

6.2. Experiments and Results…………………………………………………... 65

6.3. Discussion…………………………………………………………………. 70

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CHAPTER 7 EXPERIMENTS AND FEM MODELING OF STRESS
RELAXATION……………………………………………….. 71
7.1. Theory……………………………………………………………………... 71

7.2. Experiments………………………………………………………………... 73

7.3. Experimental Results………………………………………………………. 74

7.4. FEM Modeling and Results………………………………………………... 79

7.5. Discussion…………………………………………………………………. 79

CHAPTER 8 FEM MODELING OF STRUCTURAL RELAXATION

DURING LENS ANNEALING……………………………… 82
8.1. Theory……………………………………………………………………... 83

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8.2. FEM Modeling of Lens Annealing………………………………………... 87

8.3.
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FEM Results……………………………………………………………….. 90

8.4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………. 101

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CHAPTER 9 LENS MOLDING EXPERIMENTS AND NUMERICAL
SIMULATIONS……………………………………………… 103

9.1. Lens Molding Experiments and Comparison with FEM Simulations…….. 103
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9.1.1. Experimental Procedure and Results…………………………….. 103

9.1.2. FEM Simulations using DEFORM™……………………………. 110

9.1.3 FEM Simulations using MSC Marc……………………………... 116

9.2. Parametric Study of Molding Parameters…………………………………. 123

9.2.1. Experimental Procedure and Results…………………………….. 124

9.3. Discussion…………………………………………………………………. 136

CHAPTER 10 OVERALL SUMMARY AND CONTRIBUTIONS……….. 137

APPENDIX A HEAT TRANSFER DURING LENS MOLDING…………. 141

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A.1. Heat Transfer Model of the Glass-Mold System………………………….. 141

A.2. Heat Transfer Coefficient for Nitrogen Cooling…………………………... 149

A.3. Effect of Mold Surface Roughness on Glass-Mold Heat Transfer………... 151

APPENDIX B MOLDING OF OTHER OPTICAL ELEMENTS………… 154

B.1. Microlens Molding………………………………………………………… 154

B.2. Molding of Diffractive Lens………………………………………………. 158

B.3. Free Form Lens Molding…………………………………………………... 159

B.4. Thermal Forming of Glass Microsheets…………………………………… 160

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APPENDIX C MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION
COEFFICENT OF BK7 GLASS……………………………. 164
LIST OF REFERENCES………………………………………………………..
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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Schematic showing spherical aberration in a spherical lens……… 4

Figure 1.2. (a) Placing of raw glass gob/ blank material on the lower mold,

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(b) Heating of the glass and mold assembly to the molding
temperature, (c) Pressing (molding) of the glass material between
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the mold halves and (d) Forced cooling of the lens and mold
assembly to near room temperature and lens release……………... 7
Figure 1.3. Schematic diagram of a process sheet showing the variation of
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temperature and mold position during a complete molding cycle... 7
Figure 3.1. Schematic illustration of a traditional polishing process…………. 16
Figure 3.2. Schematic illustration of a precision grinding process…………… 18
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Figure 3.3. (a) Schematic of a magnetorheological finishing setup and (b)

Close up view of the actual polishing zone………………………. 19
Figure 3.4. Schematic illustration of a “Precessions” polishing process……... 21
Figure 3.5. Typical viscosity vs. temperature curve for soda-lime-silicate
glass [Doremus, 1994]……………………………………………. 24
Figure 3.6. (a) Application of a constant stress (σ0) on a glass sample at
different temperatures; Strain response of glass as a function of
time; (b) high temperature: viscous fluid, (c) low temperature:
elastic solid and (d) intermediate temperature: viscoelastic
material………………………………………………………….... 26
Figure 3.7. (a) Application of constant stress at time t0 and removal of stress 27

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 at time t1 and (b) permanent viscous strain due to the applied
stress……………………………………………………………….
Figure 3.8. (a) Maxwell model (b) Voigt element and (c) Burger model…….. 27
Figure 3.9. (a) Comparison of predicted (FEM), measured and analytical
axial stress curves during cooling and reheating of a bead seal
[Soules, 1987] and (b) Comparison of the predicted (FEM) and
measured residual stress in thickness direction inside glass during
quenching [Carre, 1996]…………………..………...……………. 34
Figure 4.1. Schematic illustration of the compression molding machine setup. 37
Figure 5.1. Experimental stress versus strain curves from cylinder
compression tests at different temperatures for (a) BK7 glass and

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(b) SK5 glass; T indicates the test temperature………………….... 48
Figure 5.2. Measured velocity and strain rate versus time plots for (a) BK7
glass at 671 °C and (b) SK5 glass at 755 °C…………………….... 49
Figure 5.3. Figure 5.3.
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Comparison of viscosity values obtained from
cylinder compression test and curve-fitting experimental data
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using Equation 5.3 with the results from beam bending test for (a)
BK7 glass and (b) SK5 glass……………………………………... 51
Figure 5.4. Measured temperature dependence of the elastic parameter EM in
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Equation 5.3 for BK7 and SK5 glass……………………………... 52

Figure 5.5. 2D axisymmetric simulation model of a glass cylinder
compression test…………………………………………………... 53
Figure 5.6a. Comparison of the measured, curve-fit and FEM predicted stress
versus time results for BK7 glass at 645 °C……………………... 54
Figure 5.6 Comparison of the measured, curve-fit and FEM predicted stress
versus time results for BK7 glass at (b) 657 °C and (c) 671 °C….. 55
Figure 5.6. Comparison of the measured, curve-fit and FEM predicted stress
versus time results for BK7 glass at (d) 678 °C and (e) 696 °C….. 56
Figure 5.7. Comparison of the measured, curve-fit and FEM predicted stress
versus time results for SK5 glass at (a) 723 °C and (b) 740 °C…... 57

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Figure 5.7. Comparison of the measured, curve-fit and FEM predicted stress
versus time results for SK5 glass at (c) 755 °C and (d) 775 °C…... 58
Figure 5.8. Predicted equivalent von Mises stress distribution in a BK7 glass
cylinder during compression at 671 °C during pure viscous
deformation……………………………………………………….. 59
Figure 6.1. Schematic of the experimental Brillouin light scattering set-up in
back-scattering geometry; FP1 and FP2 represent Fabry-Perot
etalons mirrors, M, L and S are the mirror, lens and the slit
respectively, BS is a beam splitter and R is a corner cube……….. 63
Figure 6.2. Brillouin light-scattering plots showing longitudinal (LA) and
transverse acoustic (TA) modes of (a) BK7 glass at 600 °C and

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(b) SK5 glass at 725 °C (Note the strong LA mode has been
scaled down by factors of 150 in Figure 6.2a (a)and 175 in Figure
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6.2 (b))……………………………………………………………. 67
Figure 6.3. Calculated longitudinal (C11) and transverse (C44) elastic
constants from Brillouin light scattering measurements for (a)
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BK7 glass and (b) SK5 glass……………………………………... 68

Figure 6.4. Estimated Young’s modulus values from the measured
longitudinal and transverse elastic constants at different
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temperatures for BK7 and SK5 glass using Brillouin light-

scattering technique………………………………………………. 69
Figure 7.1. Stress response of glass as a function of time when subjected to
an instantaneously applied strain ε0, at time, t0………………….... 72
Figure 7.2. Measured load and mold position versus time curves during
relaxation test of BK7 glass at 663 °C……………………………. 75
Figure 7.3. Illustration of the theoretical and the actual measured load during
relaxation experiments……………………………….…………… 75
Figure 7.4. Measured long-time uniaxial stress relaxation curves as a function
of log time at different temperatures for (a) BK7 glass and (b)
SK5 glass………………………………….……………………… 77
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Figure 7.5. Master curve produced by shifting data in Figure 7.4 to a
reference temperature of (a) 689 °C for BK7 glass and (b) 765 °C
for SK5 glass……………………………………………………… 78
Figure 7.6. Comparison between predicted FEM and analytical stress
relaxation curves at different temperatures for (a) BK7 glass and
(b) SK5 glass……………………………………………………… 80
Figure 8.1. Variation of specific volume during cooling of a glass-forming
and a non-glass forming liquid………………………………….... 83
Figure 8.2. 2D-axisymmetric FEM simulation model of lens annealing
showing the deformed glass workpiece mesh and the applied
boundary conditions………………………………………………. 88

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Figure 8.3. Predicted volume versus temperature curves obtained by
implementing structural relaxation model and thermal expansion
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coefficient for BK7 glass during lens annealing, rate of cooling,
q& = 1 °C/sec…………………………………………………........ 91
Predicted variation of stress component σyy during lens cooling
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Figure 8.4.
from molding to room temperature at two locations (center C and
surface S’) on the lens using (a) structural relaxation model, rate
of cooling, q& = 1 °C/sec and (b) thermal expansion coefficient…. 93
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Figure 8.5. Predicted residual stress distribution (σyy component) in a

modeled lens using (a) structural relaxation mode, rate of cooling,
q& = 1 °C/sec and (b) thermal expansion coefficient……………... 95
Figure 8.6. Predicted variation of stress component σxx during lens cooling
from molding to room temperature at two locations (center C and
surface S’) on the lens using (a) structural relaxation model, rate
of cooling, q& = 1 °C/sec and (b) thermal expansion coefficient…. 96
Figure 8.7. Predicted variation of stress component σyy during lens cooling
from molding to room temperature at two locations (center C and
surface S) on the lens using structural relaxation model, rate of 97

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 cooling, q& = 1 °C/sec……………………………………………..
Figure 8.8. Comparison of the measured and FEM predicted lens curve
deviation calculated using the structural relaxation model and
thermal expansion coefficient…………………………………….. 98
Figure 8.9. Predicted lens volume versus temperature curves for three
different cooling rates ( q& )………………………………………... 99
Figure 8.10. Predicted residual stress distribution (σyy component) in a lens for
three cooling rates (a) q& = 1° C/ sec, (b) q& = 2° C/ sec and (c) q&

= 3° C/ sec………………………………………………………… 100
Figure 9.1. Schematic cross-section of a test meniscus lens molded during
experiments……………………………………………………….. 104

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Figure 9.2. Picture of tungsten carbide mold inserts used in lens molding
experiments………………………………………………………..
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Figure 9.3. Optical scans of mold surface roughness of (a) spherical concave
lower mold (Ra = 1 nm) and (b) aspherical convex upper molds
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(Ra = 1 nm)………………………………………………………... 106
Figure 9.4. Molding experiment setup inside a Toshiba lens molding
machine............................................................................................ 107
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Figure 9.5. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time during one lens molding
experiment ...……………………………………………………... 107
Figure 9.6. Measured lens curve deviation from designed for three molded
lenses on (a) spherical convex side and (b) aspherical concave
side………………………………………………………………... 108
Figure 9.7. Optical scan of a molded lens showing (a) spherical convex side
(Ra = 5 nm) and (b) aspherical concave side (Ra = 4 nm)………… 109
Figure 9.8. FEM simulation model of lens molding in DEFORM™-2D
showing displacement and thermal boundary conditions applied
to the gob and mold objects………………………………………. 112

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Figure 9.9. Different stages during a lens molding simulation (a) heating
stage, (b) forming stage, (c) lens-mold cooling to 200 °C and (d)
final lens cooling to room temperature…………………………… 114
Figure 9.10. Comparison of the experimentally measured and FEM predicted
lens curve deviation (aspherical side of lens number 3)………….. 115
Figure 9.11. Predicted equivalent von Mises stress distribution in a molded
lens at different stages during cooling at (a) 684 °C (b) 200 °C
and (c) 20 °C……………………………………………………… 117
Figure 9.12. FEM simulation model of lens molding in MSC Marc showing
displacement and thermal boundary conditions applied to the disc
and mold objects………………………………………………….. 118

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Figure 9.13. Different stages during a MARC lens molding simulation (a)
heating stage, (b) forming stage, (c) lens-mold cooling to 200 °C

Figure 9.14.
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and (d) final lens release and cooling to room temperature………. 120
Comparison of the experimentally measured and FEM (Marc)
predicted lens curve deviation (a) Spherical side (lens no 19) and
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(b) Aspherical side (lens no 3)……………………………………. 122
Figure 9.15. FEM predicted spherical (convex) lens curve deviation showing
the sensitivity of numerical simulation to the input solid thermal
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expansion coefficient value……………………………………….. 123

Figure 9.16a. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 1
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 126
Figure 9.16b. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 2
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 126
Figure 9.16c. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 3
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 127
Figure 9.16d. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position 127

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 and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 4
in Table 9.3………………………………………………………..
Figure 9.16e. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 5
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 128
Figure 9.16f. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 6
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 128
Figure 9.16g. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 7
in Table 9.3……………………………………………………….. 129

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Figure 9.16h. Process sheet showing the variation of mold temperature, position
and molding load as a function of time for experiment condition 8

Figure 9.17.
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in Table 9.3………………………………………………………..
Measured maximum load during lens forming at different (a)
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molding temperatures and (b) molding velocities………………... 131

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Figure 9.18a. Measured spherical (convex) lens curve deviation for different
molding speeds (T = 680 °C, q& = 1.82 °C/sec)…………………... 132
Figure 9.18b. Measured spherical (convex) lens curve deviation for different
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molding temperatures (v = 0.1 mm/sec, q& = 1.82 °C/sec………… 132

Figure 9.18c Measured spherical (convex) lens curve deviation for different
cooling rates (T = 680 °C, v = 0.1 mm/sec)………………………. 133
Figure 9.19. (a) Post experiment surface scan of the convex upper mold with
roughness value Ra = 7.32 nm and (b) Surface scan of a molded
lens with roughness value Ra = 3.10 nm (for experiment condition
no. 4 in Table 9.3)……………………………………………........ 135
Figure A.1. Schematic showing heat removal from the closed glass-mold
system by forced convection during lens cooling stage…………... 141
Figure A.2. One-dimensional domain of heat transfer between the glass and 143

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 the molds………………………………………………………..…
Figure A.3. Model of the semi-infinite medium solution to estimate glass
surface temperature……………………………………………….. 147
Figure A.4. Schematic of the experimental setup used to investigate the
influence of the mold surface roughness on the glass-mold heat
transfer……………………………………………………………. 152
Figure A.5. Measured thermal history at the upper mold surface for two
different mold surface finishes……………………………………. 153
Figure B.1 SEM picture of a microlens array using BK7 as glass material and
stainless steel as a mold material, lens diameter = 3 mm………… 155
Figure B.2 (a) Initial microlens forming model for heating and forming stage

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of microlens molding in DEFORM and (b) Cooling simulation
model of extruded lens in Marc…………………………………... 156
Figure B.3
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Predicted von Mises stress distribution inside a microlens for two
different friction conditions at the glass-mold interface, (a) no
friction and (b) coefficient of friction (µ)= 0.6…………………… 157
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Figure B.4 Comparison between the measured and predicted lens shape
obtained by implementing different Coulomb friction coefficient
values……………………………………………………………... 158
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Figure B.5 a) Microscopic view of a diffractive lens and (b) AFM scan of a
smaller area……………………………………………………….. 159
Figure B.6 (a) Generated tool path used in the fast tool servo process (b) Free
form surface of the nickel mold and (c) Image obtained using the
molded free form lens…………………………………………….. 160
Figure B.7 (a) Initial mandrel and microsheet configuration and (b) thermal
formed microsheet at the end of forming…………………………. 161
Figure B.8 Results from 2D- plane strain FEM simulation of thermal glass
forming process, (a) initial heating of sheet and mandrel to the
soaking temperature, (b) forming of the sheet under gravitational
load and (c) formed glass microsheet at the end of forming……… 163

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Figure C.1 Results from thermal expansion coefficient measurement test on
BK7 glass showing percent change in sample length with
temperature……………………………………………………….. 165

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1. Comparison of glass and plastic properties for use as optical lens
materials……………………………………………………………........ 2
Table 5.1. Experimental conditions used for compression tests performed on BK7
and SK5 glass samples………………………………………………….. 46

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Table 6.1. Density and refractive index values of the two glasses used in the
calculation of elastic constants [Schott, 2000]………………….……….
IE 65
Table 8.1. Mechanical and thermal properties of BK7 glass used in the simulation;
** [Schott, 2000]………………………………………........................... 89
EV
Table 8.2. Structural relaxation parameters used as input to the numerical
simulation for BK7 glass; * [Soules, 1987], ** [Schott, 2000]……….... 90
Table 9.1. Process parameters for tungsten carbide mold fabrication……………… 105
PR

Table 9.2. Experimental conditions for lens molding experiments………………… 106

Table 9.3. Mechanical and thermal properties of BK7 glass [Bansal, 1986; Schott,
2000] and tungsten carbide molds [Fujidie, 2003] used in the
simulation……………………………………………………………….. 111
Table 9.4. Experimental matrix for lens molding experiments…………………….. 125
Table A.1 Properties of nitrogen gas……………………………………………….. 150
Table B.1 Thermal forming process information…………………………………... 162
Table C.1 Thermal expansion coefficient measurement test details……………….. 164

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 LIST OF SYMBOLS

Symbol Units Description

b phenomenological parameter
C11 MPa longitudinal elastic glass constant

W
C44 MPa transverse elastic glass constant
Cp J/ Kg °C specific heat
IE
f GHz frequency
E MPa elastic modulus
EV
EM MPa elastic parameter in the rheology based glass flow model
EH MPa elastic parameter in the rheology based glass flow model
g m/sec2 gravitational constant
G MPa shear modulus
PR

H J/ mol activation energy

hint W/ m2 °C interface heat transfer coefficient
Ic Kg m2 moment of inertia
km MPa shear yield strength
kc W/ m °C thermal conductivity
Mv volume response function
m shear friction factor
n refractive index
nu unit normal vector
nm surface roughness parameter indicating maximum peak to
p-v
valley height
xxiii