Glass is manufactured in a wide range of thicknesses for various applications. In addition to the type of glass, the edgework of the glass, and the style of design, careful consideration must be given to the thickness of glass. While local building codes must always be consulted, several options exist depending on the glass&#;s application and use. Armed with the knowledge below, a savvy customer will be better prepared to navigate the choices surrounding glass thickness.
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Single Lite - The industry term for what is commonly known as a &#;single pane&#; piece of glass, single lite glass is utilized for most interior applications (such as shelves, cabinets, mirrors, and tabletops) as well as in the exteriors of older buildings. Single lite glass does not carry the enhanced insulating or &#;energy saving&#; properties (or R-Value) of Insulated Glass, and is therefore discouraged for new construction and contemporary remodels.
Insulated Glass - Often called &#;double pane&#; glass, insulated glass (IG) units consist of two pieces of single lite glass separated by an aluminum spacer of various thicknesses, and joined together at the glass factory. IG units provide greatly enhanced R-Values, and are a savvy choice to reduce expensive long-term heating or cooling costs for the home or business. Beware of contractors who say they can build IG units themselves: ONLY insulated glass units made in a factory carry a warranty against internal fogging or moisture build-up due to failure. IGs typically carry a 10-year warranty from the manufacturer. Due to this warranty, IG replacement will always replace both &#;panes&#; of glass, even if only one is damaged.
1/8 Inch Glass - Most commonly used in picture frames and other small display items, 1/8&#; glass is visibly very thin. Because 1/8&#; glass is relatively fragile, it is not utilized in modern commercial or residential exterior construction, as even minor impacts such as those from small birds are likely to cause damage.
¼ Inch Glass - Typically utilized in garage door windows and on top of tables, ¼&#; glass provides an attractive confluence of strength and economical price point. Much less heavy and expensive than thicker glass, ¼&#; glass still offers the strength needed to set down a metal cup on a coffee table without worrying. Mirrors are typically ¼&#; thick.
3/8 Inch Glass - Shower doors and exterior furniture often utilize 3/8&#; glass due to its enhanced strength. While significantly more expensive and heavier than standard 1/4&#; glass, homeowners often use 3/8&#; glass in applications such as patio tables, where dangers such as falling acorns or a child&#;s or dog&#;s toy may impact it.
½ Inch Glass - Commonly used in interior applications such as shower doors, ½&#; glass is HEAVY. It is also significantly stronger than thinner glass, and for that reason may also be used for specialty displays (such as a glass cabinet, or a shelf that holds heavy statues or decorations). While the strength of ½&#; glass may be attractive, one must also balance the price and ease of relocation (it is heavy) when selecting interior glass.
¾ Inch Glass and Above - Sometimes utilized in shower doors, ¾&#;, 5/8&#; and 1&#; glass is uncommon due to its weight and expense. ¾&#; glass and above is mostly seen in shower doors. Glass thicknesses of 1&#; or greater are almost never utilized outside of specialty commercial applications, such as airports.
Laminated Glass - Any thickness of glass may be filmed or laminated for increased strength, durability, or safety. Laminated or filmed glass is a specialty product, and is most often selected when certain specialty criteria are specified, such as for protection from windborne debris inside hurricane or tornado zones. Laminated glass may also hold special properties such as reducing the sun&#;s radiation, or providing privacy for a gym or office; however, laminated glass often costs significantly more than non-laminated glass, due to the greater manpower used in its creation.
Glass thicknesses measured in millimeters (mm) may be encountered. While construction in the United States typically utilizes the American System of measuring (seen above in fractions of an inch), most locales outside of the U.S. use the Metric System (based on the millimeter). If you do happen to encounter a glass thickness shown in millimeters, an easy conversion formula can be used to convert from millimeters to inches: Divide the millimeter number by 25.4. E.G. 6mm divided by 25.4 = 0. inches, or 1/4&#; when rounded.
While one must consider many variables when selecting the appropriate type and thickness of glass, this guide may aid the discerning homeowner or general contractor in selecting the appropriate thickness of glass for their project and pricepoint. And if you&#;re still not quite sure about which thickness of glass to select, the friendly glaziers and staff at A-1 Glass & Mirror are happy to offer our expertise and experience.
Laminated glass is a type of safety glass consisting of two or more layers of glass with one or more thin polymer interlayers between them which prevent the glass from breaking into large sharp pieces.[1] Breaking produces a characteristic "spider web" cracking pattern (radial and concentric cracks) when the impact is not enough to completely pierce the glass.[2]
Laminated glass is used for architecture, glazing, automobile safety, photovoltaic, UV protection, and artistic expression.[1] The most common use of laminated glass is automobile windshields and skylight glazing. In geographical areas requiring hurricane-resistant construction, laminated glass is often used in exterior storefronts, curtain walls, and windows. Laminated glass is also used to increase the sound insulation rating of a window, because it significantly improves sound attenuation compared to monolithic glass panes of the same thickness.
The interlayer is typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), ionoplast polymers, cast in place (CIP) liquid resin, or thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).[1] An additional property of laminated glass for windows is that an adequate TPU, PVB or EVA interlayer can block nearly all ultraviolet radiation. A thermoset EVA, for example, can block up to 99.9% of all UV rays.[3] The thermoset EVA offers a complete bonding (cross-linking) with the material whether it is glass, polycarbonate (PC), or other types of products. For sound insulation, if using EVA or TPU, no additional acoustic material is required;[4][5] if using PVB, a special acoustic PVB compound is used.
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Firefighters breaking through a laminated windshieldIn , the French corporation Le Carbone obtained a patent for coating glass objects with celluloid to render them less susceptible to cracking or breaking.[6]
Laminated glass was invented in by the French chemist Édouard Bénédictus (&#;), inspired by a laboratory accident: a glass flask had become coated with the plastic cellulose nitrate, and when dropped it shattered but did not break into pieces.[7] In Bénédictus filed a patent, after hearing about a car accident where two women were severely injured by glass debris.[8][9] In , he formed the Société du Verre Triplex, which fabricated a glass-plastic composite to reduce injuries in car accidents.[10] Production of Triplex glass was slow and painstaking, so it was expensive; it was not immediately widely adopted by automobile manufacturers, but laminated glass was widely used in the eyepieces of gas masks during World War I. In , the process was licensed to the English Triplex Safety Glass Company. Subsequently, in the United States, both Libbey-Owens-Ford and Du Pont with Pittsburgh Plate Glass produced Triplex glass.[11]
Meanwhile, in , John Crewe Wood, a solicitor in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, patented a laminated glass for use in windshields. The layers of glass were bonded together by Canada balsam.[12] In , he founded the Safety Motor Screen Company to produce and sell his product.[13]
In , the Canadian chemists Howard W. Matheson and Frederick W. Skirrow invented the plastic polyvinyl butyral (PVB).[14] By , United States companies had discovered that laminated "safety glass" consisting of a layer of PVB between two layers of glass would not discolor and was not easily penetrated during accidents. Within five years, the new safety glass had substantially replaced its predecessor.[15][16]
In the Road Traffic Act , the British Parliament required new cars to have safety-glass windshields,[17] but did not specifically require laminated glass.
By , 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of safety glass manufactured by British Indestructo Glass, Ltd. of London[18] was being used annually in vehicles produced at the Ford Motor Company works in Dagenham, England.[18] The "Indestructo" safety glass was chosen because "it gives the most complete protection. In addition to being splinter-proof, it is crystal clear and permanently non-discolourable."[18] This quote hints at issues that prevented wider use of laminated glass earlier.
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A typical laminated makeup is 2.5 mm glass, 0.38 mm interlayer, and 2.5 mm glass. This gives a final product that is referred to as 5.38 mm (0.212 inches) laminated glass.[19]
Strength can be increased with multiple laminates and thicker glass. Bullet-resistant glass, a type of laminated glass, is usually constructed using polycarbonate, thermoplastic materials, thermoset EVA, and layers of laminated glass.[20] In automobiles, the laminated glass panel is around 6.5 mm (0.26 inches) thick, in comparison to airplane glass being three times as thick.[21] In airliners on the front and side cockpit windows, there is often three plies of 4 mm toughened glass with 2.6 mm thick PVB between them.[citation needed] This is one of the makeups used for the Boeing 747 cockpit side windows.[citation needed] The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde forward pressure windshields had 7 plies, 4 glass and 3 PVB for a total thickness of 38 mm (1.5 inches).[citation needed] For increasing sound attenuation through laminated glass for extreme sound levels, using a mix of 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, and 6 mm glass thicknesses is more effective.[22]
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Modern laminated glass is produced by bonding two or more layers of ordinary annealed or tempered glass together with a plastic interlayer, usually polyvinyl butyral (PVB), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or ethylene-vinyl acetate (cross-linked EVA). The interlayer is meant to improve the mechanical properties such as impact strength, fracture toughness, and failure modes.[1] The plastic interlayer is sandwiched by the glass, which is then passed through a series of rollers or vacuum bagging systems to expel any air pockets. The assembly then is heated for the initial melt, and the assembly is heated again under pressure in an autoclave (oven) to achieve the final bonded product (fully crosslinked in the case of the thermoset EVA). The tint at the top of some car windshields is in the PVB. To obtain a colored glass, colored PC films can be combined with the thermoset EVA material during the laminating process.
Digital printing is now available for architectural applications by either printing directly to the glass and then laminating, or printing directly to the PVB as is the case with the trademarked Dupont SentryGlas Expressions process.[citation needed] Full CMYK images can be printed to the interlayer prior to the autoclave process, and present vivid translucent representations. This process has become popular in architectural, interior design, and signage industries.[citation needed]
Once a thermoset EVA is properly laminated, the glass can be presented frameless. There should be no water/moisture infiltration, very little discoloration, and no delamination due to the high level of bonding (crosslinking).[5] Newer developments have increased the thermoplastic family for the lamination of glass. Beside PVB, other important thermoplastic glass lamination materials today are ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA),[23] thermoset EVA,[24] and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).[25] The adhesion of TPU is not only high to glass, but also to polymeric interlayers.
Laminated glass is also sometimes used in glass sculptures and is widely utilized in architectural applications. In addition, laminated glass has applications in making bulletproof glass, penetration-proof glass, stairs, rooftops, floors, canopies, and beams.[26]
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Since , metallized and electroconductive polyethylene terephthalate (PET) interlayers are used as substrate for light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laminated to or between glass. Colored interlayers can be added to provide a permanent transparent color for a laminated glass panel. A switchable interlayer can also be added to create a panel which can be clear when a small electric current is passed through the interlayer and opaque when the current is switched off.
For LED glass, the layers are:
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For laminated glass, the post-breakage strength and safety are most important when analyzing its performance.[27] The interaction between the glass and its interlayer determines the failure of the panels.[27] In testing the performance of laminated glass, the panel is subjected to impact loading and bending, where the interlayer material transfers shear stress to the glass.[26] The stiffness in the interlayer will determine the overall bending stiffness of the laminated glass panel.[26] Laminated glass fails due to the cohesive failure of the interlayer and/or the connectivity between the panel and interlayer.[27] The failure of the interlayer can occur when the interlayer material is ductile (at room temperature), or brittle and stiff (when working below the glass transition temperature).[27]
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The main benefits of laminated glass are: increased safety/security, reduced emissions, reduced noise pollution, and protection during natural disasters.[28] Laminated glass increases safety for people during vehicle accidents since their windshield will stay intact, preventing glass fragments from injuring passengers. For security, laminated glass is difficult to break, which prevents intruders. Laminated glass can also reduce heating from the sun, allow building interiors to stay cool and reducing energy consumption. Depending on its thickness, laminated glass can reduce noise pollution coming from the exterior. In natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, laminated glass will remain intact and reduce potential injuries and deaths.
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Plastic interlayers in laminated glass make its cutting difficult. There is an unsafe practice of cutting both sides separately, pouring a flammable liquid such as denatured alcohol into the crack, and igniting it to melt the interlayer to separate the pieces.[citation needed] The following safer methods were recommended by the UK Government's Health and Safety Executive in :[29]
Cutting laminated glass requires a different scoring procedure since the glass has resistance to fracture.[30] Laminated glass can be broken through breaks, which depends on the distance between the edge of the glass and its score. The most common breaks for laminated glass are pressure break, tweak break, table break, tap break, and pliers break.[30] Pressure breaks, intended for scores that are more than 12 inches from the edge, flips the glass over on a table surface with the score facing downwards. Pressure would be applied on either sides of the score until the glass panel breaks. Tweak break, meant for scores between 4 and 6 inches from the edge, involves using one's fingertips to propagate the break along the score line.[30] Table break, recommended for glasses with at least 12 to 18 inches from the edge, uses the table edge to break the score. For scores close to the edge, tap break is recommended at the expense of a scalloping effect on the glass edge. For this type of break, drop jaw pliers or glass pliers are used to break the glass along the score. For scores less than 1/2 to 1 inches from the edge, pliers break would use pliers to place a downwards pressure on the glass, breaking the score through an angle.
After cutting the laminated glass panels, there are different ways to separate the interlayer. The most common methods are melting it and cutting it.[30] Before, glaziers often used denatured alcohol to melt the polyvinyl butyral (PVB) layer, however, this method proved to be dangerous as alcohol is flammable. A safer alternative is to melt the PVB lamination layer with a heat gun. Once the interlayer is melted, the separation is cut using a single-edged razor blade or a tape measure blade.[30] With the blade, one would stroke the score and cut the PVB until the glass is separated from the interlayer completely.
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According to the United States National Windshield Repair Association, laminated glass repair is possible for minor impact damage using a process that involves drilling into the fractured glass to reach the lamination layer. Special clear adhesive resin is injected under pressure and then cured with ultraviolet light. When done properly, the strength and clarity is sufficiently restored for most safety related purposes. The process is widely used to repair large industrial automotive windshields where the damage does not interfere with the view of the driver.[31]
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Waste disposal of laminated glass is no longer permitted in landfill in most European countries as the End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELV) is implemented. While the interlayer material cannot be easily recycled, research has been done to recycle the interlayer by mechanical processes and use them in other applications. A study by University of Surrey and Pilkington Glass proposes that waste laminated glass be placed into a separating device such as a rolling mill where the glass is fragmented and the larger cullet is mechanically detached from the inner film. The application of heat then melts the laminating plastic, usually polyvinyl butyral (PVB), enabling both the glass and the interior film to be recycled. The PVB recycling process is a simple procedure of melting and reshaping it.[32] However, the recycled PVB will have structure variations and lower strength properties than the original polymer.[26] Also TPU is easy to recycle as all non crosslinked plastics.
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For more information, please visit insulated glass windows.