Tempered glass is one of two kinds of safety glass regularly used in applications in what standard glass could pose a potential danger. Tempered glass is four to five times stronger than standard glass and does not break into sharp shards when it fails. Tempered glass is manufactured through a process of extreme heating and rapid cooling, making it harder than normal glass.
Laminated glass is a type of safety glass that holds together when shattered. In the event of breaking, it is held in place by an inter-layer, typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), between its two or more layers of glass. The inter-layer keeps the layers of glass bonded even when broken, and its high strength prevents the glass from breaking up into sharp pieces. This produces a characteristic “spider web” cracking pattern when the impact is not enough to completely pierce the glass.
Low-emissivity (Low-E) glass has a thin coating, often of metal, on the glass within its airspace that reflects thermal radiation or inhibits its emission reducing heat transfer through the glass. A basic low-e coating allows solar radiation to pass through into a room. Thus, the coating helps to reduce heat loss but allows the room to be warmed by direct sunshine. The low-e coating is usually on the surface.
A transparent construction of glass, hermetically conjoined along a contoured spacer frame so as to form one or two separate chambers which are filled with dried air or inert gas.
Argon, a safe, odorless, non-toxic gas which is 40% denser than air, significantly slows down the transference of heat and cold from pane to pane. The Argon can be upgraded to Krypton, which is 96% denser than air, to provide considerably more insulation value and significantly reduce heat transfer as well as energy bills.
The air-filled windows and argon-filled windows look exactly the same. It is also important to note that argon gas is nontoxic. As such, a cracked or broken argon window is just as harmless as an air-filled window.
Newer developments have increased the thermoplastic family for the lamination of glass. Beside PVB, important thermoplastic glass lamination materials today are EVA.
The advantages of EVA film are:
The glass is made by addition of coloring ions, colored inclusions, light scattering dichroic coatings or colored coatings.
