Safety glass
Description
A glass that has been altered to make it stronger, minimize its breakage, and minimize any harm that broken glass could cause. Common designs for safety glass include heat strengthening (Tempered glass) or the addition of plastic (Laminated glass) or wire mesh (Wire glass) between two outer layers of glass. These techniques can be used individually or together. When broken, tempered glass crumbles into small granular chunks. When laminated glass is broken, the glass pieces remain adhered to the plastic sheet, although a window can escape its frame and collapse like a wet blanket. When wire mesh glass is exposed to high heat or fire, the wire reduces thermal stress and keeps the glass in place making it highly fire resistant. Optically transparent plastic sheets, such as polycarbonate, are often chosen instead of glass for security purposes.
In most countries, safety glass is required in buildings (glass doors/windows, skylights, shower doors, refrigerator trays, etc.) and automobile windows. Safety glass not only provides protection from human-related forces like bullets and bombs, but also decreases any potential damage that may occur from environmental forces, such as earthquakes or hurricanes.
For additional information, see:
- Exhibit Guidelines Technical Notes: Selecting Exhibit Glazing
- Exhibit Guidelines Technical Notes: Security Glazing for Exhibit
Synonyms and Related Terms
vidrio de seguridad (Esp.); verre feuilleté (Fr.); vree de sécurité (Fr.); verre de sureté (Fr.); vetro di sicurezza (It.); vidro de segurança (Port.); Laminated glass; shatterproof glass; nonshatterable glass; bulletproof glass; reinforced glass
Applications
- Architecture, glazing, automobile windows
- UV protection, skylights
- Weather resistance (hurricanes, wind, etc.) in store fronts and windows.
- Sound reduction
Resources and Citations
- Wikipedia: Safety glass Accessed Nov. 2024