Civil Engineering Materials

Glass
Rev. Dr. Anthony Woode
 Glass
As a glazing material (for Installing windows), it has
remained unchallenged and seems likely to continue
to dominate the field in the future.

Used for cladding, door, balustrade, fan light, table tops, partitioning,
security mirrors
Reasons it has remained unchallenged

• Raw materials are plentiful and cheap

• Has unrivalled abrasion resistance
• Light transmission properties
• Resistance to weathering
• Resistant to chemical attack except hydrofluoric (HF) acid.
• Long life span
• Comes in Different colours
• Lighter in weight compared to other glazing materials
Manufacture of glass

•The raw material (Silica sand) is mixed in the correct proportions with
a quantity of scrap glass (Cullet) soda ash (added to reduce the
melting point), and limestone, which mitigates reactions
caused by the soda ash and heated to 1500oC.
•The cullet melts first and permits reaction and fusion of the remaining
ingredients at temperatures below the melting point of pure silica. The
liquid is then cooled to a temperature below 1000oC to 1200oC at
which the viscosity is sufficiently high for forming.
Four Types of glass

• Annealed glass (Float glass that has not been heat-strengthened or

tempered) (also called “flat” glass)
• Heat Strengthened Glass --Float glass which has been partially tempered
• Toughened glass ---float glass which has 6 times the strength of
annealed glass
• Laminated glass--In its simplest form, it consists of two sheets of glass
bonded with a thin film of plastic
Annealed glass
• Annealed glass is a basic product formed from the annealing stage of
the float process. The molten glass is allowed to cool slowly in a
controlled way until it reaches room temperature, relieving any
internal stresses in the glass.
• Without this controlled slow cooling, glass would crack with relatively
little change in temperature or slight mechanical shock. Annealed
glass is used as a base product to form more advanced glass types.
Heat Strengthened Glass
• Heat Strengthened Glass is semi tempered or semi toughened glass. The heat
strengthening process involves heating annealed glass back up to about 650 to
700 degrees Celsius and then cooling it quickly, although not as fast as with
toughened glass. The heat strengthening process increases the mechanical and
thermal strength of annealed glass, making it twice as tough as annealed glass.
• When it breaks the fragments are similar in size to annealed glass, but with a
greater likelihood of staying together.
• This glass is not often used in balustrades or similar structural applications
because of its limited strength compared to tempered or toughened glass,
although is sometimes specified when there is concern about tempered glass
fracturing into thousands of small pieces.
Rolled glass
•Rolled Glass
•A type of glass called rolled glass is made by pouring molten glass (as hot as 1050
degrees Celsius!) on a steel sheet and flattening it with a large heavy metal cylinder
called a roller. After it's rolled, the glass is water-cooled to around 850 degrees
Celsius and then annealed, or allowed to cool to room temperature very slowly in
a controlled environment so it doesn't cool too fast, which can make it brittle.
Some rolled glass is made on a double roller table, which presses the molten glass
between two rollers.
Rolled glass cont’d
• The thickness of the glass can be adjusted by changing the gap
between the rollers. Rolled glass tends to have a patterned surface,
and it's not completely flat or transparent. Flattening the glass with a
double roller creates a glass with a more even surface.
• One type of rolled glass is called obscure glass. It has a pattern
pressed into its surface and is used for both decorative and privacy
purposes. Used for art and architectural purposes
Float glass
• Float glass is manufactured using a melt process, where recycled
glass, silica sand, lime, potash and soda are melted in a furnace and
floated onto a bed of molten tin.
• The molten mass solidifies slowly while flowing over the bed of
molten tin, after which it is annealed to remove stresses induced
during the cooling process.
• Annealing also allows the glass to reach a more stable state resulting
in a higher density and higher refractive index.
Laminated glass
• This provides a high degree of resistance to injury from flying glass
incase of impact. In its simplest form, two sheet of glaass are bonded
with a thin film of plastic such as polyvinyl.
• The sandwiched plastic bonds well to the two glass surface and helps
absorb energy in impacts, but most importantly stops glass shattering
and disintegrating if stressed to failure so that it often remains secure
and waterproof
Properties
1. Solar heat gain—Most energy in the sun’s rays is transmitted by
ordinary glass causing the warming of internal surfaces. This causes
considerable discomfort in building with large areas of ordinary glazing.
Solar gain can be controlled by the use of
•tinted heat-absorbent types of glass
•Heat-reflecting glass
Properties Cont’d
2. Heat losses from glass—Glass has a high thermal conductivity (about
1.0 W/moC). Therefore, it offers very little resistance to conducted
heat flow
3. Fire performance—Ordinary glass has a poor performance in fire due
to its tendency to shatter when heated. A period of 60 minutes stability
can however be achieved by wired glass (ie. Georgian glass---Rolled
glass with wires incorporated. Fire resistant).
Heat-treated borosilicate glass can be laminated with float glass to
achieve high impact resistance
Properties Cont’d
4. Durability– Glass is unaffected by the atmosphere and by most acids
with the exception of hydrofluoric acid. Alkalis in cement or chemical
paint strippers attack and destroy the smooth and light transmission
properties of glass
5. Sound and heat insulation