High-strength lightweight glass bottle composition design
Innovative glass composition design enhances strength while reducing weight, maintaining chemical stability and sustainability. Ideal for packaging applications.
Overview
This breakthrough in glass composition design focuses on enhancing the mechanical strength of soda-lime-silica glass while reducing its weight, making it ideal for packaging applications. By optimizing the proportion of network formers and incorporating ions with higher charge density and smaller ionic radii, the resulting glass is both lightweight and strong. This innovation maintains the essential properties of chemical stability and sustainability.
Technical specifications
- Base composition: Modification of the Na₂O-CaO-SiO₂ system
- Enhanced strength: Achieved by increasing network formers and adding ions with higher charge density
- Lightweight: Maintains or reduces density while enhancing mechanical strength
- Chemical stability: Evaluated under pH 3–5 and pH 6–9 conditions
- Validation process: Includes empirical modeling, laboratory sample preparation, and mechanical testing
Technology readiness level
This project is at Technology Readiness Level 5, with laboratory validation ongoing and pilot-scale trials planned with industrial partners over the next two years.
About Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a large applied public university in Sheffield, England, with a comprehensive profile and a strong industry-facing ethos. Its Health Innovation Campus at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park co‑locates the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre with NHS and commercial partners to enable collaborative R&D and clinical translation. The National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering provides purpose‑built facilities for process development and scale‑up in partnership with companies. Work‑based degree apprenticeships, supported by the National Centre of Excellence for Degree Apprenticeships, give employers a direct pipeline of trained talent. Research is supported by competitive UK public funding, including UKRI and national health research programmes, and a dedicated technology transfer function within Research and Innovation Services supports IP, licensing and spinout formation.
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