http://www2.dupont.com/SafetyGlass/en_US/index.html?scr=youtube_dupont_sentry_02 Structural glass systems are now designed with both load-bearing and mechanical performance as well as with aesthetic considerations. From floors and stairs to balcony railings and glass canopies, DuPont™ SentryGlas® is changing the way that glass is used in building projects.
Stephen Bennison, Senior Technical Associate DuPont™ SentryGlas®: So we really took a polymer that was designed very much from a single impact, car windshield, which, is designed to be very compliant. Again, if I if I if I look at this other sample, which is a PVB, you cant really flick it. You see its very flexible. because it was essentially designed for that single single event. The SentryGlas® is designed not only for one event, but multiple events. and thats really what differentiates it. It really increases the structural and mechanical performance beyond what you can do, with with PVB. And its really shifting the paradigm. , its very much changed the mindset of what can be done, , with laminated glass. And, , one of the most prominent, , engineers, , who designs with, with glass, , globally, , made a comment recently, which, I thought was very interesting , interesting. He likened the development of SentryGlas® to the development of reinforced concrete. You know, in the early days of concrete, you had monolithic concrete, and it had certain design limitations. And when rebar was invented, and inca , and incorporated, , within concrete, it totally changed the design paradigm and led to much more aggressive structural design with, with concrete. So there was a big driver to put lots of glass in buildings just from an aesthetic and design point of view. But then you run up, against a lot of hard engineering constraints. So what an architect wants to do and what an engineer will let them do is often two different things. And theres a tension there. And that that can be solved by the use of laminated glass in many, kinds of applications.
Valerie Block, Architectural Marketing Specialist DuPont™ SentryGlas®: And were seeing glass used in really amazing building projects, where, , the glass might be used for overhead glazing. It may have different support conditions than what youre traditionally looking at, whereby a frame is going to be, , put around the glass on all four sides. These days, you might see very minimal supports, bolts through the glass holding the glass onto the structural frame. And, all of this is really whats new with exterior and interior glazing.
Stephen Bennison: If youve ever visited the Apple stores, the Apple computer stores in, in Soho and Fifth Avenue and theres a bunch of others that have sprung up. The glass design, theres a massive use of glass in in those buildings. you may have seen the cube on on on, on Fifth, Fifth Avenue. And the glass stairs and the structural, a lot of use of structural glass where glass is used an element to actually support a lot of the loads, imposed, on that structure.
Valerie Block: SentryGlas® has really expanded the use of laminated glass in what are called structural glass railings. Could be a a balcony. It could be a railing in a condo. And, it its also a commercial application, which has found its way into baseball stadiums. So, many of the new baseball stadiums that are being designed, in terms of railings on upper tier decks, want to maximize the view of spectators onto the field. Thats the main goal. So, one way to do it is to eliminate a top metal rail. Well, the thing that really makes SentryGlas® so special in these applications gets to the glazing detail itself, which is basically only on the bottom edge. The stiffness of the interlayer creates a much better glass railing solution, and especially, if you consider the issue of post-glass breakage, where the glass will remain standing even if broken, serving as a barrier. Other issues around exterior glass railings get at the ability of the laminate itself to resist moisture penetration, as you might see in other interlayers that have been used in glass railings. So, the SentryGlas® interlayer is actually a better performer than other interlayers in an exterior environment. So, laminated glass is finding its way into structural glass railings because designers are interested in it, but also because in the 2009 version of the International Building Code, there is new code language which says that structural glass railings must utilize laminated glass. So its getting a push from both the designers as well as the building code officials themselves.
Loading...
4:28Tempered Glass Testsby DIYNetwork6,143 views
Featured Video
All Comments