Producing toughened and heat strengthened

glass begins with the feeding by conveyor

of cut-to-size annealed sheets of glass
(with minimum arrised edges) into a furnace.
The glass oscillates back and forth on ceramic
roll ers to an approximate temperature of 620C.
Under computer control, the glass moves
into the quench where it is rapidly cooled by
high pressure cool air. This snap cooling or
quenching in duces compressive stresses to
the glass surface, while the centre remains in
tension. Although the physical characteristics
remain unchanged, the additional stresses
created within the glass increases its strength
by 45 times (for toughened glass) compared
to that of annealed glass of equal thickness.
Toughened safety glass produced by National
Glass is manufactured to the requirements
of AS/NZS2208 Safety glazing materials in
buildings and AS/NZS2080 Safety glass for
land vehicles.
toughened
and heat
treated
glass
04
26
what is heat treated glass?
In this section heat treated will refer to heat strengthened and
heat soaked glass.
toughened glass
features and applications
0 Safety Toughened safety glass is manufactured to
AS/NZS2208 and 2080 and is a Grade A safety glass as
per AS1288;
0 Stronger Up to 500% stronger than annealed glass
and therefore is more resistant to thermal breakage and
can withstand greater windloads. Can be used within a
temperature range of minus 70C to plus 250C (surface
temperature should not exceed 250 C if other surface is
lower than 0C ambient);
0 Frameless Allows reduction of framing members to
produce a cleaner frameless look;
0 Ease of handling Standard arrised edge makes
handling easier;
0 Matching Ease of matching tinted toughened Safety
Grade A glass and tinted annealed glass;
0 Delivery Plastic wrapped or papered to avoid scratches
during delivery;
0 Thicknesses Available 3 12mm Grade A Safety Glass and
1525mm toughened glass. Flat automotive and marine
toughened is available in 412mm;
0 Applications Recommended for door, side and low
lites, frameless entries, balustrades with handrails, shower
enclosures and furniture.
Toughened glass furnace.
27
design and glazing notes
0 Surface treatments Toughened glass cannot be
drilled or edgeworked in any manner. Sand blasting and
other surface treatments should be carried out prior to
toughening. Deep sand blasted patterns greater than 1mm
are not permissible;
0 Templates For toughened glass or dered to templates
refer to our template processing guidelines;
0 Minimum edgework Finish on toughened glass up to
12mm is a standard arrised edge. Minimum edge work on
greater thicknesses will be a at ground edge;
0 Bowing Slight distortion or bowing may occur after
toughening but is largely con trollable. It will vary with
substance, tint, surface treatment, size and shape of the
glass. Ceramic painted, sand blasted or reective coated
glass has a greater ten dency to bow and special tolerances
would be advised. Flatness will be meas ured when the glass
is standing on edge with a straight edge placed along the
full length of the panel and a wedge measure ment taken at
the centre position;
0 Visual distortion The furnacing of glass panels can produce
slight corru gated distortion or roller waves. This vis ual effect
is in the form of distortion bands 250300mm apart. It is
more noticeable in tinted and reective toughened glass. It is
recommended that the roller wave run horizontal on the glass
subject to the sizing constraints of the toughening furnace.
Less visual distortion is evident with a heat strengthened
glass. Talk to our staff about specic optical requirements;
0 Quench pattern During the quenching phase of the
toughening proc ess, the glass is rapidly cooled by high
velocity blasts of air. Inevitably this re sults in slightly
higher levels of compres sion at those areas adjacent to
the air nozzles. The consequence of this is the occasional
appearance of a strain pattern or iridescent spots or darkish
shadows. This effect is referred to as the quench pattern
as it occurs in the furnace quench. Typically, the pattern is
only visible at times of polarised light (polarised sunglasses)
or by viewing the glass from the inside at acute angles.
Similarly, the thicker and more reective the glass, the
more obvious the pattern will be;
0 Plastic wrap on toughened glass is used to protect the
glass during transport. The plastic wrap should be removed
no later than one month after exposure to sunlight.
spontaneous breakage
On rare occasions, toughened glass can break for what seems
to be no apparent reason. A variety of contaminants in the
raw stock can lead to problems either during or subsequent
to the toughening process. Investigation into some in stances
of spontaneous breakage has identied an impurity in the
glass called nickel sulphide as the cause. Most often however,
breakage is usually due to surface damage or excessive loading
on toughened glass.
nickel sulphide NiS
Microscopic nickel sulphide stones are a rare, undetectable
contaminant in raw glass stock. The heating and rapid sur face
cooling processes of glass tough ening is believed to change NiS
stones from a stable to unstable state. Heat soaking is a method
used to lower the chances of spontaneous breakage.
heat soaking
Heat soaking involves heating toughened glass in a special
oven at temperatures close to 280C to 290C for several
hours to induce breakages that may be caused by inclusions
or contaminants in the glass. However heat soak ing does not
guarantee detection of all inclusions or contaminants that may
lead to spontaneous breakages.
heat strengthening
Though not suitable for Grade A safety glass applications, the
probability of nickel sulphide inclusions inducing spontaneous
breakage is practically nonexistent with heat strengthened glass.
See also page 29.
D Diagonal = 260mm
B A
2400mm 2800mm
4
5
0
0
m
m
5
5
0
0
m
m
28
ordering guidelines
For edgework and processing guidelines for toughened
glass refer to Section 12. Before ordering, please refer to the
following for your orders compliance:
0 Product type and thicknesses;
0 Maximum size;
0 Minimum size;
0 Minimum edgework;
0 Toughened identication stamp.
product type and
thicknesses
0 312mm clear/tinted;
0 412mm clear/tinted (AS/NZS2080 Auto.);
0 1525mm clear;
0 EVantage;
0 Stopsol/Solarcool;
0 Sunergy;
0 Sungate 500 / Other hard coat low-E;
0 Acid Etched;
0 Cathedral;
0 Gluechip;
0 Kosciusko;
0 Satinlite;
0 Screenview;
0 Spotswood;
maximum size
The National Glass toughening furnace can produce sizes up
to 4500mm x 2400mm. Sizes up to 5500mm x 2800mm are
available on longer leadtimes.
minimum size
The smallest panel of glass that can be toughened must equal
260mm in the diagonal measurement. Smaller sizes are available
on extended leadtimes. The minimum size for panels with Flat
Ground/Polish (straight edges) will be 250mm x 100mm.
calculating minimum
toughened glass size
A2 + B2 = C
C = D (Diagonal measurement)
minimum edgework
Clean cut edges for toughened glass is not permitted. Minimum
nish is standard arris 312mm. Flat ground edge is required for
15mm thicknesses and over. The minimum size for panels with
Flat Ground/Polish (straight edges) will be 250mm x 100mm.
For more information on edgework proles and edge working in general,
refer Edgework and Process ing, Section 12.
29
Width
H
e
i
g
h
t

Centre of stamp
Y
X
toughened identification
stamp
Permanent stamps are located in the normal position at the
bottom left/right hand corner or special position to customer
specication. Please state either Glazing (or architec tural),
Automotive or special sized stamps for louvres.
No stamp request: Our glass labels conform to the
requirement under AS/NZS2208:1996 as a non-permanent
marking. To assist with identication we also attach a small
self-destroying label to all squares of toughened glass that
are ordered without a permanent stamp. You may choose to
remove the label in your factory or leave to conrm to your
client that toughened safety glass has been used.
Stamps in special positions: Please nominate on drawing
position of stamp.
architectural stamp
automotive stamp
louvre face stamp
Small discrete ID stamp placed on face of glass (41mm x 3mm).
heat strengthened glass
Heat strengthened glass is produced in the same manner
as toughened safety glass ex cept that the cooling process is
slower. Heat strengthened glass is generally twice as strong
as annealed glass, has more resistance to heat fracture and
is subject to greater windloading than annealed glass. Heat
strengthened oat glass on its own is NOT a safety glass,
but can be laminated to meet requirements. When heat
strengthened glass breaks, it fragments into larger pieces
and tends to stay intact in the opening until replaced. This is
particularly useful in high rise spandrel and above ground oor
panels because the fragments do not fall to the ground below.
Like toughened glass, it can not be cut, drilled or edgeworked.
Less visual distortion is also evident when compared to
toughened safety glass. Be cause heat strengthened glass has
a atter surface and less distortion than toughened glass
it is commonly used in laminated form as an alternative to
toughened glass. This allows the interlayer to adhere more
evenly to both laminate lites for a atter nish. In addi tion
to these benets, the probability of nickel sulphide inclusions
inducing spontaneous breakage in heat strengthened glass is
practi cally non-existent.
See also Heat Strengthened Laminated Glass page 34.
features and applications
0 Less visual distortion than toughened glass;
0 Stronger up to 200% stronger than annealed glass.
Can resist temperature differential of 180C;
0 Fall out protection less likely to fall out of opening
in the event of breakage as com pared to annealed or
toughened glass;
0 Safety when laminated complies to AS/NZS2208 and as a
Grade A Safety glass per AS1288;
0 Applications spandrels, overhead glazing as a
H/S laminated, higher wind load areas and where visual
appearances are critical.
chemically toughened
glass
Produced in a molten salt bath process, chemically toughened
glass retains the optical quality and atness of annealed
glass. It is also claimed that chemically toughened glass is
not affected by nickel sulphide inclusions and spontaneous
breakages and has greater impact resistance than toughened
glass. Chemically toughened oat glass on its own is not a
safety glass, but can be laminated to meet requirements.
Size:
27mm (w)
x 31mm (h)
Size:
27mm (w)
x 31mm (h)