Everything about Glasses
Glassopedia
Glass is an inorganic solid material that is usually transparent or translucent as well as hard, brittle, and impervious to the natural elements. Glass has been made into practical and decorative objects since ancient times, and it is still important in applications as disparate as building construction, housewares, and telecommunications. It is made by cooling molten ingredients such as silica sand with sufficient rapidity to prevent the formation of visible crystals.
Different Types of Glass used for Windows & Doors
Types of Glass
Also known as flat glass is annealed glass (not tempered or heat strengthened) and is produced by controlled cooling to prevent residual stress in the glass. Float glass is high quality like sheet glass with good optical clarity like plate glass and can be cut, drilled, machined, edged, bent and polished.
Thermally tempered or toughened glass is approx 4 times stronger than annealed glass. Toughened glass is impact resistant and when it is broken it shatters into small, harmless cubes. Toughened glass is made from annealed glass which is heated to 600 deg C and then rapidly cooled. The rapid cooling places internal stresses on the glass which allow it to be strong and break into regular cubes. After the glass is toughened, it is not possible to carry out any alteration like cutting, machining, drilling, sandblasting etc.
Heat strengthened glass is subjected to heating / cooling cycle in controlled behaviour and is twice as strong as annealed glass. These glasses also have higher resistance to thermal loads. When broken, the glass fragments break into large pieces and do not result into small fragments like toughened glass, thus allowing it to stay in the opening for a longer duration. Although it is not a safety glass but this breakage pattern prevents the glass from falling and injuring someone This glass cannot be drilled / cut / edged, sandblasting etc.
Most commonly used when privacy is required, frosted glass allows light to pass through without clear view. Frosted glass is produced by sand blasting or acid etching float glass.
Insulated glass refers to two or more glass sealed around the edges with an air space between the two to form a single unit. The insulating air / gas between the two layers of glass improve the thermal performance of the unit.
Laminated glass consists of two or more glass permanently bonded together with one or multiple layer of polyvinylbutyral (PVB). Used most commonly when safety is paramount. When broken, the glass pieces tend to adhere to plastic (PVB) layer. It is recommended to use toughened glass with Lamination. Toughened laminated glass invariably has waviness. This is due to glass process limitation.
Tinted or light colored glasses are used to for aesthetic appeal or reduce direct glare. Tinted glass also reduces light transmission.
Reflective glass is glass that has been treated with advanced coatings to reflect heat and radiation from sunlight while allowing the natural light to come in. Also known as mirror glass. These reflect the side with more light and allows visibility to the darker side.
Glass Properties in a Window & Door
Properties of Glass
Glass Breakage Properties
Glass Breakage Properties
