Glass progress

This Issue This is a part of the Innovation feature

By - , Build 118

Glass has advanced from providing daylight to controlling the entire solar spectrum and providing insulation, sound control, fire retardation, safety, security, decoration, shape, glare reduction and more.

Allan Sage
Allan Sage

One of the major advances in glass in the last 10 years has been in window insulation, where we are now approaching the state of ‘U-value of 1 = R-value of 1’. This has been achieved by advanced coating technology, and insulated glass united in double and triple glass format. The advanced, spectrally selective coatings have low emissivity to reflect long-wave radiation. They also allow high light transmission while reducing solar heat gain.

Decoration: digital, laminate, LED

Another advancement has been in decoration. Digital printing direct to glass (GlassJet), using high-durability ceramic inks, has opened a new world of possibilities to designers. Large-area colour digital images can be created on façades or roofs.

New laminating technology uses special interlayers such as EVA, SGP and TPU. These allow special high-resolution digital printed films (Image Glass) and other decorative products to be laminated inside glass to provide decoration and functionality. Some of these inter layers also improve the age-old issues with edge delamination and mechanical strength. As a result, some products are now available in huge sizes, like those used in Apple stores worldwide.

LED lights can be laminated inside glass to form words or a pattern. Switchable glass can make the view disappear at a flick of the switch. Coloured PVB interlayers are another innovation that provides colour combinations and transparency, and these can be combined with digital printing and laminating to make some amazing products.

Free-form structures have been a recent international trend, using curved, bent, shaped and even cold-formed (twisted) glass to create flowing lines.

What next?

Advancement in coating technology means coatings will become more user-friendly for the processing companies, as many currently have transport and shelf-life issues.

There will be increased use of new electrically switchable tinted glass technology leading to the control of light and heat by a dial and connection to the building services system.

The ‘biggie’ is photovoltaic glass products, which will dominate the world of glass for the next 10 years and beyond, as we are able to harness the power from the sun.

 

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Allan Sage
Allan Sage

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