Tempered Glass (Toughened Glass) Tempered glass is a high-strength, safety-focused material that is approximately 2.5 times stronger than standard glass of the same thickness. This strength makes it ideal for demanding structural applications.
This product has a wind pressure resistance strength over 3 times that of other flat glass of the same thickness. It is a transparent tempered glass that is suitable for housing, including house windows and interior fixtures.
If you're interested in unbreakable glass that truly lives up to its name, polycarbonate panels are the type you want. Polycarbonate panels are significantly more difficult to break than both standard glass windows and laminated glass mentioned above.
Residential Standards: Most residential windows use glass thicknesses ranging from 2.5mm to 4mm. Commercial Standards: Commercial buildings often require thicker glass, ranging from 6mm to 12mm, to meet safety and durability requirements.
Tempered glass is widely used in glass railings, balconies, and balustrades because of its ability to withstand pressure and impact without easily breaking. In the event of breakage, the glass shatters into small, blunt pieces, minimising the risk of injury.
Polycarbonate Unbreakable Glass
A polycarbonate window is much more difficult to break through than a standard glass window. In fact, according to some estimates a polycarbonate window is over 200 times more resistant to impact!
Why 1 psi? Not because 1 psi is the pressure that bursts eardrums, liquifies internal organs, or break bones. No, the EPA chose 1 psi as the overpressure endpoint because 1 psi is the overpressure at which glass shatters.
Laminated glass is made by bonding multiple layers of ordinary glass using a transparent and flexible material. It is widely used in architecture and can be used to create other types of glasses as well (like float, wired or toughened glass).
Glass Thickness
6mm (1/4″): supports approximately 60-70 lbs per square foot. 8mm (5/16″): supports approximately 85-100 lbs per square foot. 10mm (3/8″): supports approximately 110-130 lbs per square foot. 12mm (1/2″): supports approximately 150-170 lbs per square foot.
Bulletproof glass ranges from 0.25 inches to 3.5 inches and as the thickness increases, so does the weight. This is critically important to consider when designing and building structures. Bulletproof glass ranges in levels of protection from UL 1 to 10.
Walk-on glass floors are designed to be just as secure as concrete would be beneath your feet. Layers of toughened glass are bonded together to form a safe and strong surface, suitable for pedestrians to walk upon.
Victus glass is even stronger than Corning's Gorilla Glass, and can survive drops of up to two meters.
Windows are the number-one input point for burglars to break into your homes and offices. However, the specialised PVB interlayers of laminated glass provide a high level of intrusion-resistance to keep you safe from burglar attacks.
Architectural glass is a term used to describe glass elements in a building. It particularly refers to glass facades and glass that becomes the feature of a building. It is currently used broadly in the architectural industry in creating frameless doors, windows, extensions, balconies, and stairs.
Heat Tempering
Toughened or tempered glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the inner surfaces into tension.
Many curtain walls have knock-out panels in case of fire. A float glass panel would break into dangerous shards that could fall and injure a passerby. Toughened glass, by contrast, breaks into lots of small, harmless pieces.
The typical GlassWalk glass floor can be 1” or 1 ¼” thick based on the options for glass which are offered.
For example, a 1-inch-thick length of tempered glass holds almost 200 pounds if its supports are 5 feet apart; the same glass shelf can hold more than 5,000 pounds if supports are 1 foot apart.
Is Thick Glass Harder to Break? In short, yes. Thicker glass can withstand higher tension levels and so-called “smash-and-grab” scenarios, but could still separate if improperly tempered, or during incorrectly placed and drilled holes and notches.
Bubbles are a source of weakness in glass drawn at low stress. The ease with which the surface of glass is damaged by contact with other glass is attributed to tangential rather than normal movement.
Tempered Glass (Toughened Glass)
This strength makes it ideal for demanding structural applications.
As with many other elements in a home, glass can wear down throughout the years and eventually will need to be replaced. Temperature changes, wind, storms, and sun can all take a toll on glass windows, leading to brittle glass.
Temperature Difference (Thermal Shock)
When you pour hot water into a glass, the inside of the glass expands faster than the outside. This drastic difference in expansion causes enormous stress on the glass structure, causing it to crack or break.
Glass typically has a tensile strength of 7 megapascals (1,000 psi). However, the theoretical upper bound on its strength is orders of magnitude higher: 17 gigapascals (2,500,000 psi). This high value is due to the strong chemical Si–O bonds of silicon dioxide.