A new information centre has been established by US-based Monsanto Co. to help sell the safety and security benefits of laminated architectural glass to architects, construction specifiers and other m…
A new information centre has been established by US-based Monsanto Co. to help sell the safety and security benefits of laminated architectural glass to architects, construction specifiers and other members of the professional building trade. “Although laminated glass has been the standard for automotive windshields for 50 years, there is much less awareness about its important benefits in architectural use,” says Randy Myers, director of the North American Laminated Glass Information Centre (LGIC), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. He says the LGIC“s mission is to help expand the use of laminated glass in commercial and residential construction. PVB resin used for this application is manufactured and sold in sheet form by Monsanto under the Saflex trade name and by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. under the Butacite trade name. Safety glass applications in the automotive industry, mostly in front windscreens to reduce injuries resulting from accidents, has long been the principal PVB market and accounts for nearly two-thirds of total US consumption. However, architectural glass, which accounts for about one-quarter of PVB demand in the US, is the fastest growing segment of the market. But the industry believes that most growth in future demand for laminated glass is likely to come as the building trade responds to growing concern over the risk of devastating natural disasters and terrorist bombings. Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$ 15.5 billion worth of damage in insured losses alone, spurred the passage of a first ever, window impact standard in Dade and Broward counties in South Florida, US. The new standard seeks to protect windows from flying debris by establishing impact criteria for windows in residential and commercial buildings. Selected windows made with hurricane resistant laminated glass passed the testing and are approved for various applications in both counties.”We have learned by studying building damage caused by Hurricane Andrew that there is a definite correlation between internal pressurisation and failure of window openings,” says Paul Beers, president of Glazing Consultants Inc. and an adviser to the new LGIC. Facilities at high risk, such as government buildings, airports, prisons, or even sites where chemical explosions are a risk, can also benefit from the use of laminated glass as passive resistance to small explosions. While no type of window system could have saved the Murrah Federal Building from the massive Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US, blast in April 1995, windows and doors with laminated glass in buildings surrounding a high-risk facility can provide improved security, according to LGIC. In Oklahoma City, about 80% of the 400 to 500 people treated at hospitals were injured by flying glass. Glass shards were found in buildings and on streets more than six miles away. A recently completed study on the bombing by Dr. Scott Norville at Texas Tech University, found that in all instances where laminated glass was found, it remained in its frame, protecting the interior contents of the building. “Even though laminated glass fractures, the interlayer absorbs the blast energy and holds the glass in place,” says Dr. Norville, who is also an adviser to LGIC. “Although no glass system could have saved the victims, the number of glass-related injuries in Oklahoma City could have been reduced dramatically if the windows in the surrounding buildings had been made with laminated glass.”