RelaxPy: Python code for modeling of glass relaxation behavior

Abstract

The degree of relaxation in any glass sample is a governing property in every property of the glass. It plays an important role in every major glass product commercially available, but has required individual groups to develop their own relaxation codes. RelaxPy is a Python-based script designed to be used in a Python interpreter or Linux terminal. Given an input temperature path and set of material properties including the nonequilibrium viscosity parameters, RelaxPy returns the evolution of the composite fictive temperature, viscosity, and relaxation time. Optionally, the software can also return the individual values of the fictive temperature components using a Prony series fit to approximate the stretched exponential relaxation form. RelaxPy aims to provide a flexible, open-source framework for glass relaxation modeling where new advances in glass physics can be easily incorporated and shared with the community. Keywords: Glass, Thermodynamics, Viscosity, Relaxation, Fictive temperature, Kinetics