Abstract
In architecture, glass established itself as an element that provided cohesion between the inside and the outside. Glass is a transparent structural material and one of the few building materials that combines tradition with technological innovation. Glass is a product that harmonises colour, reflectance, transparency or opacity, texture and thickness, flatness or curvature with, for example, some control over opacity or self-cleaning properties, whilst at the same time being low-emissive, heat and/or sound insulator, offers protection and security, as well as resistance to thermal shock and impact from projectiles. Moreover glass is the only material that is 100 % recyclable, what we should bear in mind, as sustainable development is only possible by careful use of resources and technology. Glass is, definitively, a hard product to beat.
FORTUNA VITREA EST: TUM CUM SPLENDET, FRANGITUR
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Notes
- 1.
Glass breaks whenever the surface or edges are placed under a certain amount of tension. In these conditions, any slight crack on the surface or edges can spread to form visible damage.
The main principle behind tempering lies in creating a situation with initial compression of the surface or edges. This is achieved when the glass is reheated and rapidly cooled. In this way, the centre of the glass will remain warm compared to the surface, which will cool quickly. When the centre area of the glass cools, it compresses the surfaces and edges.
Wind pressure, the impact of a stone, heat tension or other applied forced can overcome this permanent surface tension and break it.
- 2.
A spontaneous catastrophic fracture, often referred to in tempered glass, is rare. Some of the causes of this fracture can include the presence of impurities such as nickel sulphate crystals, incomplete tempering, forces on the glass frame, accumulation of surface risks (microcracks) or excessive exposure to the sun.
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Gonçalves, M.C. (2015). Glass. In: Gonçalves, M., Margarido, F. (eds) Materials for Construction and Civil Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08236-3_8
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