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It is most typically used as transparent glazing material in the building envelope, including windows in
the external walls. Glass is also used for internal partitions and as an architectural feature. When used in buildings, glass is often of a safety type, which include
reinforced, toughened and laminated glasses
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass.[1][2] Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier".
Glazing is also (less commonly) used to describe the insertion of ophthalmic lenses into an eyeglass frame.
Common types of glazing that are used in architectural applications include clear and tinted float glass, tempered glass, and laminated glass as well as a variety of coated
glasses, all of which can be glazed singly or as double, or even triple, glazing units. Ordinary clear glass has a slight green tinge but special clear glasses are offered by
several manufacturers.
Glazing can be mounted on the surface of a window sash or door stile, usually made of wood, aluminium or PVC. The glass is fixed into a rabbet (rebate) in the frame in a
number of ways including triangular glazing points, putty, etc.. Toughened and laminated glass can be glazed by bolting panes directly to a metal framework by bolts passing
through drilled holes
Cast glass[edit]
Cast glass windows, albeit with poor optical qualities, began to appear in the most important buildings in Rome and the most luxurious villas of Herculaneum and
Pompeii.[1]
Crown glass[edit]
Main article: Crown glass (window)
One of the earliest methods of glass window manufacture was the crown glass method. Hot blown glass was cut open opposite the pipe, then rapidly spun on a table
before it could cool. Centrifugal force shaped the hot globe of glass into a round, flat sheet. The sheet would then be broken off the pipe and trimmed to form a
rectangular window to fit into a frame.
At the center of a piece of crown glass, a thick remnant of the original blown bottle neck would remain, hence the name "bullseye." Optical distortions produced by the
bullseye could be reduced by grinding the glass. The development of diaper latticed windows was in part because three regular diamond-shaped panes could be
conveniently cut from a piece of Crown glass, with minimum waste and with minimum distortion.
This method for manufacturing flat glass panels was very expensive and could not be used to make large panes. It was replaced in the 19th century by the cylinder,
sheet, and rolled plate processes, but it is still used in traditional construction and restoration.
Cylinder glass[edit]
Main articles: Cylinder blown sheet and Machine drawn cylinder sheet
In this manufacturing process, glass is blown into a cylindrical iron mould. The ends are cut off and a cut is made down the side of the cylinder. The cut cylinder is then
placed in an oven where the cylinder unrolls into a flat glass sheet.
Drawn Sheet glass (Fourcault process)edit
The uneven surface of old glass is visible in the reflection on this window pane.
Drawn Sheet glass was made by dipping a leader into a vat of molten glass then pulling that leader straight up while a film of glass hardened just out of the vat this is
known as the Fourcault process. This film or ribbon was pulled up continuously held by tractors on both edges while it cooled. After 12 metres or so it was cut off the
vertical ribbon and tipped down to be further cut. This glass is clear but has thickness variations due to small temperature changes just out of the vat as it was hardening.
These variations cause lines of slight distortions. This glass may still be seen in older houses. Float glass replaced this process.
Cast plate glass[edit]
Developed by James Hartley, 1848. The glass is taken from the furnace in large iron ladles, which are carried upon slings running on overhead rails; from the ladle the
glass is thrown upon the cast-iron bed of a rolling-table; and is rolled into sheet by an iron roller, the process being similar to that employed in making plate-glass, but
on a smaller scale. The sheet thus rolled is roughly trimmed while hot and soft, so as to remove those portions of glass which have been spoiled by immediate contact
with the ladle, and the sheet, still soft, is pushed into the open mouth of an annealing tunnel or temperature-controlled oven called a lehr, down which it is carried by a
system of rollers.
Polished plate glass[edit]
Main article: Polished plate
The polished plate glass process starts with sheet or rolled plate glass. This glass is dimensionally inaccurate and often created visual distortions. These rough panes
were ground flat and then polished clear. This was a fairly expensive process.
Before the float process, mirrors were plate glass as sheet glass had visual distortions that were akin to those seen in amusement park or funfair mirrors.
Rolled plate (figured) glass[edit
Figure rolled glass
The elaborate patterns found on figured (or 'Cathedral') rolled-plate glass are produced in a similar fashion to the rolled plate glass process except that the plate is cast
between two rollers, one of which carries a pattern. On occasion, both rollers can carry a pattern. The pattern is impressed upon the sheet by a printing roller which is
brought down upon the glass as it leaves the main rolls while still soft. This glass shows a pattern in high relief. The glass is then annealed in a lehr.
The glass used for this purpose is typically whiter in colour than the clear glasses used for other applications.
This glass can be laminated or toughened depending on the depth of the pattern to produce a safety glass.
Float glass[edit]
Main article: Float glass
Ninety percent of the world's flat glass is produced by the float glass process invented in the 1950s by Sir Alastair Pilkington of Pilkington Glass, in which molten glass
is poured onto one end of a molten tin bath. The glass floats on the tin, and levels out as it spreads along the bath, giving a smooth face to both sides. The glass cools
and slowly solidifies as it travels over the molten tin and leaves the tin bath in a continuous ribbon. The glass is then annealed by cooling in an oven called a lehr. The
finished product has near-perfect parallel surfaces.
The side of the glass that has been in contact with the tin has a very small amount of the tin embedded in its surface. This quality makes that side of the glass easier to
be coated in order to turn it into a mirror, however that side is also softer and easier to scratch.
Glass is produced in standard metric thicknesses of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19 and 22 mm. Molten glass floating on tin in a nitrogen/hydrogen atmosphere will spread
out to a thickness of about 6 mm and stop due to surface tension. Thinner glass is made by stretching the glass while it floats on the tin and cools. Similarly, thicker
glass is pushed back and not permitted to expand as it cools on the tin.
Prism glass[edit]
Prism glass is architectural glass used around the turn of the century to provide lighting to underground spaces and areas that would otherwise be too difficult to light.
[2]
Prism glass uses a unique convex lens design that illuminates more than ordinary glass. Prism glass can sometimes be found on sidewalks and in this form is known
as vault lighting.[3]It is similar to deck prisms that were used to light spaces below deck on sailing ships.
Glass block[edit]
Glass bricks used in a wall Sidewalk skylight (also named 'pavement light') made of Glass brick inBurlington House, London
Glass block, also known as glass brick, is an architectural element made from glass used in areas where privacy or visual obscuration is desired while admitting light,
such as underground parking garages, washrooms, and municipal swimming baths. Glass block was originally developed in the early 1900s to provide natural light
in industrial factories.
Annealed glass[edit]
Annealed glass is glass without internal stresses caused by heat treatment, i.e., rapid cooling, or by toughening or heat strengthening. Glass becomes annealed if it is
heated above a transition point then allowed to cool slowly, without being quenched. Float glass is annealed during the process of manufacture. However, most
toughened glass is made from float glass that has been specially heat-treated.
Annealed glass breaks into large, jagged shards that can cause serious injury and is considered a hazard in architectural applications.Building codes in many parts of the
world restrict the use of annealed glass in areas where there is a high risk of breakage and injury, for example in bathrooms, door panels, fire exits and at low heights
in schools or domestic houses.
Laminated glass[edit]
Main article: Laminated glass
Broken tempered laminated glass "wet blanket effect"
Laminated glass is manufactured by bonding two or more layers of glass together with layers of PVB, under heat and pressure, to create a single sheet of glass. When
broken, the PVB interlayer keeps the layers of glass bonded and prevents it from breaking apart. The interlayer can also give the glass a higher sound insulation rating.
There are several types of laminated glasses manufactured using different types of glass and interlayers which produce different results when broken.
Laminated glass that is made up of annealed glass is normally used when safety is a concern, but tempering is not an option. Windshieldsare typically laminated glasses.
When broken, the PVB layer prevents the glass from breaking apart, creating a "spider web" cracking pattern.
Tempered laminated glass is designed to shatter into small pieces, preventing possible injury. When both pieces of glass are broken it produces a "wet blanket" effect
and it will fall out of its opening.
Heat strengthened laminated glass is stronger than annealed, but not as strong as tempered. It is often used where security is a concern. It has a larger break pattern than
tempered, but because it holds its shape (unlike the "wet blanket" effect of tempered laminated glass) it remains in the opening and can withstand more force for a
longer period of time, making it much more difficult to get through.
Toughened glass (tempered glass)[edit]
Main article: Toughened glass
Toughened glass in a vandalizedphone booth in Britain
Toughened (or tempered) glass is a type of safety glass that has increased strength and will usually shatter in small, square pieces when broken. It is used when strength,
thermal resistance and safety are important considerations. Using toughened glass on automobile windshields would be a problem when a small stone hits the
windshield at speed, as it would shatter into small squares endangering the driver and passengers. In commercial structures it is used in unframed assemblies such as
frameless doors, structurally loaded applications and door lites and vision lites adjacent to doors. Toughened glass is typically four to six times the strength
of annealed glass.
Heat-strengthened glass[edit]
Heat-strengthened glass is glass that has been heat treated to induce surface compression, but not to the extent of causing it to "dice" on breaking in the manner of
tempered glass. On breaking, heat-strengthened glass breaks into sharp pieces that are typically somewhat smaller than those found on breaking annealed glass, and is
intermediate in strength between annealed and toughened glasses.