Safety glass testing covers processed glazing products for façades, fenestration and interior applications where mechanical impact, wind load or fragment retention is a design consideration. The scope extends from flat-glass substrates to tempered, laminated, wired and anti-theft assemblies.
Tempered glass
Tempered glass is produced by heating flat glass to softening point and rapidly quenching it with air, or by ion exchange. The resulting surface compression gives significantly higher bending strength, impact resistance and toughness than annealed glass. On fracture it disintegrates into small, blunt particles. Because it cannot be cut or drilled after fabrication, all machining must be completed before tempering. Applications include doors, windows, partitions, public-area glazing, and curved tempered glass for large commercial façades and industrial rooflights.
Laminated glass
Laminated glass is a composite of two or more glass lites bonded with an interlayer under heat and pressure. The interlayer retains fragments when the glass is broken, reducing injury risk and providing higher impact resistance than monolithic glass. Varying the glass substrates and interlayer materials can improve resistance to light, heat, moisture and cold. It is used in high-rise fenestration, basement glazing, bank façades, and display cases.
Wired glass
Wired glass incorporates a metal wire or mesh embedded within the glass during forming. The reinforcement helps hold fragments in place under impact, seismic movement or thermal stress, and offers limited resistance to flame spread. Typical applications include industrial rooflights, warehouse and library glazing, and transparent partitions in fire-risk areas.
Anti-theft glass
This multi-layer laminated composite combines tempered, thick glass or strengthened organic glass with resin interlayers. Conductive wiring and sensors embedded in the interlayer can be connected to alarm systems.
Test parameters
Testing evaluates appearance quality; dimensions and allowable deviations; bow; visible light transmittance (VLT); visible light reflectance; wind load resistance; heat resistance; humidity resistance; radiation resistance; ball-impact peel performance; and shot-bag impact performance.