Glass built to last
Susan Sinden of ESG Group explains why glass advances make the material one of the most versatile for creating modern, attractive and secure environments
oughened glass was an important development early in the 20th Century – because it shattered into small granular fragments rather than potentially dangerous large shards. However, in the last few decades, glass processors have far exceeded this with huge advances in laminated toughened glass, made by sandwiching sheets of toughened glass together with a PVB (polyvinyl butyrall) interlayer. If a sheet of toughened laminated glass becomes damaged, the interlayer holds nearly all the glass fragments in place, reducing the risk of falling glass fragments. This lamination process has opened up a whole range of possibilities for the use of glass, in partitions, balustrades and facades. Toughened laminated glass now allows us to vary the degree of strength and provide additional properties, by using different thicknesses of glass and types of interlayer, according to the intended purpose of the glass panel. With toughened laminated glass having greater tolerance to stress, we can
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increase the size of each panel, so that lighter, taller and wider expanses of glass can be used to create the modern uninterrupted vistas which are a feature of so many iconic modern buildings.
By selecting different technical interlayers, we can also introduce a range of added benefits such as fire resistance, sound reduction, ballistic protection, and even opacity, to each glass panel.
Using a fire-resistant interlayer provides a fire-resistant safety glass that is certified to the Certifire E30 and E60 tests, which assess glass for 30 minutes and 60 minutes of fire resistance respectively, for panels used in timber and steel doors and screens. This helps to ensure greater visibility and safety – the fire door delaying the spread of smoke and flames, while the glazed door panel allows a fire fighter to make a critical check for occupants, or a vital assessment of a situation, before tackling a blaze. We can also utilise interlayers to provide sound attenuation. This can be an
The characteristics of toughened laminated glass are such that even when the panel is damaged and its clarity compromised by fractures, it will normally stay in place
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