Physical, optical, and mechanical properties of commercially available windshield glasses using various cars

Abstract Windshield glasses of Maruti Alto 800 (A800), Hyundai i20 (H20), and Maruti Suzuki Eeco (SE) are taken from an automotive repair shop for investigating their physical, optical, and mechanical properties to check their durability. These glasses are amorphous, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Energy dispersive spectroscopy confirms that the windshield glasses contain SiO2, Na2O, MgO, CaO, Al2O3, and K2O in variable atomic percentages. The optical bandgap, refractive index, and Urbach energy are calculated using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The highest optical band gap is observed for SE. Micro Vickers hardness test is used to study the fracture toughness and hardness of the glasses. It is found that H20 has the highest hardness as well as toughness in all the windshield glasses.