45.2: Two Point Bending of Thin Glass Substrate

The two-point bend test has been used extensively for optical fiber strength and fatigue measurements. This paper extends the theory of 2-point bending to thin glass substrates. The key advantages of the 2-point bend test are 1) the simplicity of a test fixture and its operation, 2) the uniformity of a bend stress along the width of a substrate, 3) the inverse relationship between a bend stress and parallel plate spacing, and 4) the non-contact bending.