Chapter 4

Glass Packaging
After completing this chapter, a student should be able to accomplish the following objectives:
1. Define glass.
2. List the general advantages and disadvantages of glass as a packaging material.
3. List the components of packaging glass and discuss the function of each
4. Diagram a glass furnace and explain what is accomplished at each stage of the process.
5. Define “jargon” terms relating to the glass furnace (bridgewall, shadow wall, gob, etc.).
6. Define “jargon” terms relating to the container-making process (settle blow, parison,
counter blow, etc.).
7. Describe or define a brittle material.
8. Compare and contrast press and blow molding with blow and blow molding.
9. Identity points of weakness in a glass container and judge the process (press and blow
or blow and blow) that was used to manufacture a particular container.

I. Definition of Glass
Glass is an inorganic, noncrystalline, brittle solid that is formed by cooling from a liquid state. It
shows no discontinuous change in properties at any temperature, but becomes more rigid
when its temperature decreases and less rigid when its temperature increases. That definition
can be confusing. The following several paragraphs should help the reader understand it better.

What Does It Mean to Be Brittle?

Metals and similar solid materials can be described as ductile or brittle. Ductile materials, which
include steel, aluminum, rubber, and many plastics, deform gradually under load. As the load
increases, the deformation increases proportionally until it reaches a level of deformation
called the proportional limit. At any load lower than the load what would cause the
deformation to exceed the proportional limit, At any load lower than the load that would cause
the deformation to exceed the proportional limit, the material recovers to its original form
(dimensions, shape, etc.) when the load is removed. The proportional limit occurs at a level of
stress approximately equal to yield stress. Stress greater than the yield stress value causes the
material to be permanently deformed. It will not return to the original size or dimension when
the stress is removed. If the load or stress reaches a high enough value, the material will fail
(break). For example, when a load is applied to a rubber band, the rubber band deforms
(stretches). If the load is removed, the rubber band returns to its original dimension. However,
if the load is great enough the rubber band will take on permanent deformation or may fail
completely (break).

What Does It Mean to Be Noncrystalline?

When tiny crystals form in a repeating
orderly fashion in a material, the
material is said to be crystalline or to
have “crystalline regions.” Many
materials have this structure,
including table salt, table sugar, and
most metals. However, packaging
glass is noncrystalline (i.e, it does not
have a crystalline structure). Rather,
packaging glass is amorphous, made up of random, unordered
molecules (Figure 2.1). This is important, because crystalline
regions of a glass container are not as clear and are usually weaker than the amorphous
sections. Containers made of crystalline glass are more likely to break (shatter) when shocked,
such as by being dropped or “banged around” during transport. Pressurized crystalline
containers, such as champagne bottles, may literally explode because of the internal pressure.
Further, the milky appearance of a crystalline region obscures the consumer’s view of the
product.

What Does “No Discontinuous Change at Any

Temperature” Mean?

The most obvious example of a material that

does show discontinuous changes with changes
in temperature is water. At 0 degrees Celsius (32
degrees Fahrenheit), water goes through an
abrupt transition from a liquid to a solid or from Water goes through a change of state from solid (ice) to
solid to liquid, depending on whether it is being liquid or from liquid to solid at 32°F. It also goes
through a change of state from liquid to vapor or vapor
heated or cooled (Figure 2.2). At 100 degrees to liquid at 212°F. Glass does not behave this way.
Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), water goes
through a similar abrupt change in phase from a liquid to a gas or gas to liquid. Glass does not
exhibit these abrupt changes. Rather, it becomes gradually more viscous (stiffer) as its
temperature decreases until it appears to be conventional solid at normal room temperature.
What Does This Mean in Everyday Language?

• Glass is unique. The properties and characteristics described above are unlike those of
metal, paper, plastic, and other packaging materials
• Glass has the molecular structure of a liquid, but the physical properties of a solid.
• Glass can be formed into objects, cooled, used, then remelted and formed into new
shapes. This is very important to recycling programs.
• Glass is inorganic
• Glass is sometimes is reffered to as a supercooled liquid.

What Advantages Does Glass Provide Over Other Packaging Materials?

Any material has certain properties that are advantages and others that are disadvantages in
particular applications. When considered as a packaging material, glass has the following
advantages and disadvantages. (The lists are illustrative, not necessarily comprehensive.)

Advantages of Glass Compared to Other Packaging Materials

• Glass is moderate in cost, on a per container basis, when compared to other packaging
materials.
• Glass is resistant to most chemicals.
• Glass is inherently strong, particularly in compression.
• Glass has a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
• Glass is microwave safe.
• Glass is rigid
• Glass is nonpermeable, tasteless, and odorless.
• Glass can be transparent (flint glass).
• Glass can provide protection for UV-sensitive products (amber glass).
• Glass has a strong, positive, high-quality image
Disadvantages of Glass Compared to Other Packaging Materials

• Compared to other packaging materials, glass is heavy.

• Glass manufacturing requires large, costly processing facilities and equipment.
• Glass is brittle and relatively easy to break.
The significance of these advantages and disadvantages may not all be clear at this time, but
you will gain understanding as you proceed through the course.
II. The History of Glass
The essential features of the process involved in making glass are simple and easy to
understand. Glass is made when silica (sand) and certain other materials, such as soda ash and
limestone, are mixed and melted together by heat from virtually any source. There are two
such natural heat sources that occur in nature: volcanoes and lightning.

• Volcanic activity – heat from a volcano can melt sand to form a natural glass called
obsidian.
• Lightning – lightning strikes onto a sand dune or beach can melt sand to form a natural
glass called fulgurite.

Prehistoric people used obsidian to manufacture tools, such as spear points, knives, and
scrapers. One of the few current uses of obsidian follows in this path. Well-crafted obsidian
blades are sometimes used in cardiac surgery, because they have a cutting edge many times
sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels. The edge of the blade is only about 3
nanometers wide. Even the sharpest metal knife has a jagged, irregular blade when viewed
under a strong enough microscope. An obsidian blade is still smooth and even when
examined under an electron microscope.

Early Glass Manufacturing

Glass is one of the oldest man-made substances. There is no completely reliable historical
record of the discovery of glass, but the Roman historian, Pliny, wrote that the process of glass
making was discovered when Phoenician mariners used pieces of natron (a mixture of soda ash
and sodium bicarbonate) to support cooking pots over a campfire on the beach. The specifics of
the story may or may not be true, but it is clear that someone, many years ago, discovered that
if sand and soda ash were heated together at a high enough temperature, glass would be
formed.
The following are selected facts about the manufacturing of glass and glass objects that have
been documented by archeologists and historians. In addition, you can find a wealth of
information and discussion about the development of glass at the Corning Museum Web site.

• Glass beads were used in Syria in 12,000 BC.

• The Egyptians had glass jewelry in 700 BC.
• The Egyptians made glass bottles by winding strands of glass onto baked clay forms in
3000BC.
• Blowpipes were first used around 300 BC to form glass objects. The blowpipe greatly
improved the ability of artisans to produce glass objects. A skilled operator could make
more precise, better quality containers.
 • The Romans produced flat glass in 200 BC.
• Glass manufacturing began at Jamestown, in the Virginia colony, in 1608.
• Use of manual glass container manufacturing machines began in the 1800s. By 1880, 25
percent of glass containers were manufactured by machine.
• Michael Owens, who worked for the Libby Company, invented the first automated
bottle-making machine in 1903.
The modern glass container industry
developed after the introduction of Glass container shipments
the automatic bottle-making (2001-2004)
machine by the Libby-Owens-Ford 246,000
Company. The industry has grown 244,000
242,000
significantly in the last 100 years. 240,000
According to the U.S Census, in 2004, 238,000
the last year for which full 236,000
production information is available, 234,000
2001 2002 2003 2004
the glass industry in the United
States produced 239,654,000 gross In 2004, about 125 glass containers were manufactured for every
person in the US.
of glass containers for every person
in the United States in that year.
(Note: A gross is a “dozen doze” or 144.)

III. Three Selected Types of Glass

There are many types of glass, determined by the specific quantities of materials used in the
mix. An obvious example is color. If a colorant is added to the mix, the glass will be colored.
Otherwise, it will be clear and will be called flint glass. The following section describes three
selected types of glass: pure silica, soda silica, and packaging glass.

Glass Made from Pure Silica

As the name implies, pure silica glass is made from a single material --- silica (sand). The sand is
simply heated until it melts and becomes “glassy”. Then it is cooled to a “solid” state. Pure silica
glass has the following characteristics. It uses are very limited. The only significant application is
for the manufacture of mirrors and lenses for telescopes and other optical equipment.
Characteristics of Pure Silica Glass

• Inexpensive raw material

• Excellent durability
• High energy requirements to melt the mix
• Hard to fine (remove bubbles)
• Hard to form
• Expensive to process

Glass Made from Soda and Silica

The addition of soda to the silica changes the heating process and the characteristics of the
product. In the melter (a part of the glass furnace), the soda melts faster than the silica. It flows
around the silica particles, speeding up the heat transfer process. As a result, less energy is
needed for the initial melting step. The addition of the soda also decreases the viscosity of the
melted glass mixture, allowing it to be formed at lower temperatures. This type of glass is used
in the chemical industry because it is resistant to attack by many chemicals. However, it should
be noted that some formulations, called water glass, will actually dissolve in water.

Characteristics of Soda Silica Glass

• High raw material cost than pure silica glass because soda is more expensive than silica
sand.
• Lower melting temperature than pure silica glass
• Lower processing cost as a result of the less viscous melt and lowered melting
temperature.
• High thermal expansion ratio causing relatively large dimensional changes in response
to changes in temperature.
• Poor durability when compared to pure silica glass

Container (Packaging) Glass

Container glass is made of a mixture of several materials, including silica, soda, calcium
carbonate (calcia), aluminum oxide, and other materials. As the name indicates, container glass
is used to make bottles, jars, and other glass package forms. Aluminum oxide and calcium
carbonate, which are added to improve the durability of the glass, also increase the viscosity of
the melt, making the container manufacturing process more difficult and more expensive.
Desirable Characteristics of a Good Container Glass

• Low tendency to devitrification

o A vitreous material is noncrystalline
o Devitrification is the process of changing from a vitreous structure to a
crystalline structure as the glass cools.
• Good durability – better than the soda silica glass discussed previously
• Moderate cost
• Low viscosity
• Chemically durable
• Inherently strong
• Low thermal expansion
• Impermeable
• Tasteless
• Odorless
• Can be transparent (flint)
• Can be opaque (amber or other colors)
o Light protection

IV. Modern Glass Manufacturing

A modern glass manufacturing plant is large and complex and is expensive to construct and
operate. Glass manufacturing is energy intensive. Most of the energy is provided by natural gas.
The industry is geographically concentrated in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio,
but there are glass plants in Michigan, California, Florida, and other states.
Glass plants are specialized. Each furnace makes only one type of glass. A particular plant may
make wine bottles, amber beer bottles, jars for baby food, or containers for other products.

Raw Material Handling

Raw materials (sand, soda, limestone) are delivered to the glass plant by railcars or large dump
trucks, so the availability of rail lines and good roads are important considerations when
selecting the locations for a glass plant

The basic ingredients are generally stored in silos located above the manufacturing floor (the
level of the glass furnace) so that gravity can be used to feed the materials into the metering
process. Colorants and other minor constituents are handled in bags or smaller containers.
Batch House
The batch house is the part of the plant where the ingredients are
mixed in the proper quantities to be added to the glass furnace. The
batch house is located at the input end of the glass furnace, near the
silos that store the silica, limestone, soda, and other constituents
that are used in large quantities. The silos are usually supported on
heavy frames above a large conveyor that feeds the hopper.
Computerized controls measure and regulate the amount of each
major constituent in the mix. Minor constituents are usually weighed
The glass constituents are
out and added to the mix by hand. measured out and mixed together
in the batch house.

The Hopper
The ingredients in a batch are fed into a mixer along with a limited amount of water. The
ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and then dumped into a hopper, which dumps the
mix into the furnace. The water quickly evaporates. As the temperature of the batch rises, it
melts and mixes with the glass already in the furnace.

Glass manufacturing is usually a 24 hours a day, seven days a week operation. The weight of
materials added to the furnace must be equal to the weight of glass taken out of the furnace in
a given time segment. However, as will be seen later, the glass removal process is smooth and
constant. The batches, on the other hand, are fed in intermittently, in amounts ranging from
500 to 1,000 pounds per charge.
It is reasonable to question whether the batch feeding operation would cause “pulses” in the
quantity and characteristics of the glass. However, this is not a problem. The batches are
actually very small in comparison with the quantity of glass in the furnace at any particular
time, so the effect of the batches on the temperature and level of the glass in the furnace is
insignificant.

The Glass Furnace

The glass furnace consists of a number of sections: melter, bridgewall, throat, refiner, and one
or more forehearths

The melter is the largest section of the glass furnace. The melter is typically about 50 feet long,
35 feet wide, and 6 feet deep, roughly the size of a small swimming pool. The batch house is
heated and melted together into a single liquid mass in the melter. The molten glass in the
melter can reach a temperature in the range of 2,600 to 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit.
A glass furnace requires a large volume of fuel gas. The heating efficiency can be maximized by
installing alternate heating through ports located on opposite sides of the furnace.
In this system, incoming air is initially pulled through a brick lattice on one side wall. Burners, on
the same side, heat the air, which passes across the melter above the glass surface. Heat
radiates from the hot air to the surface of the glass below. The waste gases exit the melter
through the other side wall after passing through another latticework structure of brick or
similar material. During this process, the exit lattice absorbs heat from the waste gases and
heats up. Then, after a predetermined length of time has passed, the gas inflow is switched to
the other side of the melter and the process is continued in the other direction. In this way, the
lattice on the outflow side heated. This process continues as long as the glass is being heated.
The melter section of the glass furnace ends at the bridgewall (also called the shadow wall and
throat).
The bridgewall and throat form the end of
the melter opposite the input end. The
bridgewall extends partways down from the
surface, leaving an open area, called the
throat, under the wall. Liquid glass flows
through the throat as it leaves the melter.
The bridgewall forces all the glass that flows
past the wall to come from the bottom of the
Molten glass flows under the bridgewall (shadow wall) and
melter into the refiner section. Impurities that comes up on the downstream side. Impurities are trapped
were added inadvertently to the glass mix float against the wall and float to the surface as slag.
to the surface and are trapped against the
bridgewall. This floating mix of impurities is typically referred to as slag. There is always some
slag because dirt, stones, and other foreign material get into the sand other constituents and
are inadvertently fed into the melter. However, because of the arrangement of the bridgewall,
this causes little problem.
The refiner is the section on the downstream side of the bridgewall. The refiner receives the
glass mix as it flows out of the throat. Glass that flows through the refiner is virtually free of
impurities. Small bubbles float to the surface and are removed in a step known as fining.

Forehearths are ceramic-lined troughs like bathtubs that convey the glass from the refiner to
the glass container forming machines. As the glass flows through a forehearths, the
temperature of the glass is stabilized at the temperature needed for the container
manufacturing operation. Heat is added, if necessary, to maintain or increase the temperature.
Alternatively, the glass can be allowed to cool if it is hotter than necessary. Colorant can also be
added to the melted glass in a forehearth. The outlet temperature, as the melt leaves the
forehearth, is about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Usually, the temperature of the glass at the outlet from the forehearth is lower than the
temperature of the glass when it leaves the refiner and start to flow down the forehearth. The
forehearth feeds the glass into the container forming machine. Depending on the size and
weight of the containers being manufactured and other factors, a single forehearth may handle
as little as ¾ ton or as much as 140 tons of glass in a day.

There is one container forming machine for each forehearth. However, there can be as many as
eight forehearths per glass furnace, allowing eight different container designs to be
manufactured simultaneously.

As discussed previously, glass containers were originally formed by artisan using blowpipes. The
blowpipe was a technological improvement that allowed the formation of larger containers
than had been possible previously. It also allowed more precise control of the shape and size of
the containers, especially the finish, the final part of the container that was formed. In modern
glass manufacturing operations, the finish is the first part of the container that is formed.

Container Manufacturing

A container forming machine is located below the outlet end of each forehearth. Molten glass
leaves the forehearth through the feeder or spout, which is essentially just a hole in the bottom
of the forehearth. The flow of glass is assisted and controlled to some extent by a plunger. Gobs
of molten glass are cut off from the stream of glass as it flows downward through the feeder.
Each container is formed from a single gob of molten glass. The flow of molten glass is
controlled by a plunger mechanism and is aided by gravity. As the molten glass leaves the
spout, a gob is cut off by the gob shears. The gob is caught by a moving chute and directed to
the blank mold of the container forming machine.

A Gob of Glass
The action of the plunger (stroke length,
variations in the speed of movement) and
the viscosity of the glass determine the
shape of the gob that is produced. Gob
shape is very important because it affects
the precision with which the gob shape for
every container. Several sample gob shapes Gobs are shaped to influence the quantity of glass that flows
are shown in the figure. into different parts of the container
Container Forming
Containers are formed in IS machines. The term IS refers to individual section. There is one IS
machine at the end of each forehearth. The container forming machine was originally invented
by Owens in 1903 and the machines used today still operate on the same basic principles. A
typical IS machine consists of 4 to 12 individual units ganged together into a single machine.
Each individual section operates as a complete machine, independently of the other sections.
However, the operations of the various sections are coordinated into a carefully controlled
sequence of actions. The timing of this complex series of machine actions is usually controlled
by a computer. This is necessary to ensure that a blank mold will be open and ready to receive a
gob of glass when it is delivered from the chute. It also ensures that there is open space on the
cooling conveyor when the completed piece of ware are removed from the machine.
A gob falls from the feeder, is caught by the chute, moved to the proper location, and dropped
into one side of the mold, called the blank mold, for the initial forming operation. This
preliminary form of the container, called a parison, is then transferred to the other side of the
mold and formed to the final shape and size. Often, especially when small containers are being
manufactured, two to six will be formed at a time.
An IS machine is very flexible in operation. One section can be turned off for maintenance or
repairs while the other sections continue to manufacture containers as usual. If necessary, a
complete section can even be removed from the machine and replaced with another unit while
the remaining sections continue to make containers, operating normally

There are two basic approaches to manufacturing containers: 1) press and blow molding or 2)
blow and blow molding. Both processes are done on the IS machines. Only the dies and some
other details vary.

Press and Blow Molding

Press and blow molding uses two molds, the blank mold and the blow mold, to manufacture
containers with wide necks, jars and cups. A wide-neck jar is usually defined as having a finish
larger than 43 mm in diameter. The steps in the press and blow process are outlined below.

• A gob of glass falling from the forehearth is caught by the chute and delivered into the
blank mold of the container making machine.
• The gob is forced into the finish area of the blank mold by compressed air.
• A plunger enters the mold and presses the molten glass against the side of the blank
mold to create a perform called a parison. This step forms the threads and other
features of the finish. The outside skin of the parison is cooled somewhat as it comes
into contact with the mold, giving the parison some structural strength.
• The parison is transferred to the second mold, called the blow mold
 • Compressed air is blown through the finish area of the parison, forcing the molten glass
against the walls of the blow mold.
• The container remains inside the blow mold until it is cooled enough to hold its shape
when removed.
• The container is removed from the mold and set on a metal belt conveyor. Air, called
wind, is blown up through the conveyor to continue cooling the container.

Press and blow process

Blow and Blow Molding

Blow and blow molding also uses two molds, a blank mold and a blow mold, to create
containers with narrow necks, including bottles and jugs. The blow and blow process is
generally similar to the press and blow process, except that both forming steps are done by
process are outlined below.

• Glass is delivered by a moveable chute into the blank mold of the container making
machine.
• The mold closes and a bubble of compressed air forces the gob of glass into the mold,
forming the finish. This step is referred to as the settle blow.
• A tube is inserted into the finish end of the mold.
• Compressed air, blown in through the tube, forces the gob to take on the outside shape
of the blank mold.
• The finished object from the first stage, called a parison, is transferred to the blow mold.
• Air is forced into the bottle through the finish, expanding the glass against the mold.
• The container remains inside the blow mold until it is cooled enough to hold its shape
when removed.
 • The finished container is removed from the mold and set on a metal belt conveyor. Air,
called wind, is blown up through the conveyor to continue cooling the container.

Blow and blow process

Surface Damage of Glass Containers

One of the most important considerations in the manufacture of high-quality glass containers is
the prevention of surface scratches. The newly formed containers can be scratched by rubbing
against guide rails and other equipment or by rubbing against other containers as they are
conveyed through the various steps following container formation. Scratches on the surface of
glass act as stress concentrators. Surface scratches can reduce the compression strength of the
glass from 150,000 psi to as 20,000 psi. Preventing scratches preserves more of the inherent
strength of the glass.
The frequency and severity of scratches can be reduced by using the proper equipment on
filling lines, by limiting bottle-to-bottle contact, and by applying coatings to the containers.

Annealing and Coating

When new containers are removed from the molds, the glass is still very hot, around 1,750 °F.
Then, because of the cooling effect of the bottom of the container in contact with the metal
belt and the air circulating around the bell, the containers cool unevenly, leaving some parts
hotter than other and creating nonuniform stresses in the glass. These residual stresses preload
the glass and can lead to failure of the containers under conditions that would normally not be
expected to cause a problem. To cure this problem, the stresses must be relieved in a process
called annealing. Improperly annealed containers have a much higher percentage of breakage
than containers that have been annealed properly.
Annealing is done in a large oven called a lehr. A wide chain conveyor forms the bottom of the
lehr. Bottles ride through the lehr on the chain conveyor. Annealing involves the following
steps, all of which take place in the lehr.

• The containers are gradually reheated to

about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The temperature is maintained long enough
to ensure that all parts of the containers are
at the same temperature.
• The temperature is slowly reduced so that
the containers cool uniformly. A lehr where annealing is done
• Coatings are applied to the inside and outside
of the containers during or immediately after the annealing process.
o A bonding agent (usually tin or titanium tetrachloride) is applied at the hot
end (the front end) of the annealing lehr.
o At the cold end (the back end) of the lehr a friction-reducing agent (or a
coating) is applied. Coatings that are applied include polyethylene, waxes, and
silicones.
o The coatings provide a layer of physical protection against scratching and
lubricate the container’s surface, allowing it to flow through production lines
more easily.

Inspection

After the annealing process has been completed, every container is inspected carefully by
automatic equipment and by human workers. The goal is to ensure that only the highest quality
containers are shipped from the plant. Defective containers are rejected from the line to a
place where the glass is pulverized and fed back into the process as part of the stream of cullet.
Following are some of the defects that can cause rejection of a container:

• Dimensions that are out of tolerance

1. Thread height
2. Finish diameter
3. Sealing ring at the top of the finish
4. Diameter of the body
5. Bottom
• Chips or cracks
• Birdswings (glass bridge across the interior of the container)
 • Bubbles
• Color variation

End-of-the-Line Operations

Containers that reach the end of the manufacturing process are packaged for delivery to the
customer. There are two approaches that can be used: (1) bulk handling, and (2) reshippers.
(The equipment that is used for packaging operations and will be discussed in more detail in the
machinery chapter.)
Containers are often stacked in layers on pallets. Sheets of paperboard or a similar material are
used to separate the layers of containers. Plastic stretch film or shrink film can be used to
stabilize the pallet load. Alternatively, the load can be restrained by metal or plastics bands. A
forklift can then move the completed pallet load to a warehouse for storage or, more
commonly, directly onto a truck for transport to the customer. This method is called bulk
handling.
Another approach is to pack the containers directly into corrugated paperboard shipping
containers. The boxes of containers are then stacked onto pallets and are restrained by
banding, stretch wrap, or shrink wrap and shipped to the customer. At the customer’s plant,
the bottles are removed from the boxes to be filled, capped, and labeled. The filled containers
are then packed back into the same boxes that were used to transport the containers to the
plant. The shipping containers, when used this way, are called reshippers.

V. Strength of Glass Containers

As stated at the beginning of this section, glass is a brittle material. It is very strong in
compression and fails in tension. As explained previously, a brittle failure is sudden and usually
catastrophic. In its natural state, glass is stronger in compression than steel. Failure occurs at a
stress level of about 150,000 psi. However, the glass container manufacturing process leaves
many fine scratches on the surface of the container. Each of those small scratches reduces the
strength of the container. In the end, the glass has an effective strength of about 15,000 psi—
still high, but greatly reduced from clear, smooth glass.
The glass manufacturing process includes two steps that are specifically intended to improve
the strength of the containers: annealing and coating. However, numerous other factors affect
the strength of the glass and the strength of a particular glass container. Some of these are
listed in the following section.
Design and Manufacturing Factors That Affect Container Strength

• Distribution of glass throughout the container, including thickness at various points and
the distribution pattern of the glass into specific areas, such as corners
• Container shape, such as the sharpness of radii, and so on.
• Surface condition, such as scratches on the surface of the glass. Tiny scratches act as
stress concentrators, substantially reducing the strength of the glass.
• The type of load. As discussed previously, glass is very strong in compression, but often
fails under tension.
Ways to Improve the Strength of Glass

• Anneal containers in a lehr to relieve internal stresses in the container.

• Limit surface damage.
• Build compressive stresses into the material (although this is not done much with
packaging glasses and will not be discussed here).
• Change the package design (change radii, take out corners, increase wall thickness,
change the distribution of glass in the mold, etc).

Reference: Introduction to Packaging by Harold Hughes. Chapter 2 Glass Packaging. Pages 17 to 31.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/commercial-glass
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