Thermally Toughened Glass The demand for architectural glass as a design element is ever-rising. However, in its natural state, glass is fragile. Through the process of thermal toughening (tempering) it is possible to significantly increase both the strength (load bearing capacity) and the toughness (fracture propagation) of the glass. While the natural characteristics of glass remain unaffected by the heat treatment, the resulting increased internal stresses stored in its mass lead to an increase of its characteristic minimum strength by four to five times that of annealed glass of the same width. Equally substantial is the increase in the safety glass resistance to thermal sock (not artificially induced), meaning it can withstand temperature variations of up to 290°C. Yet another feature of tempered glass is its fracture behavior. The large amount of energy stored in the glass causes a tempered glass pane to break into many small glass dice, and as the fractured pieces are blunt, they pose no threat to a human’s physical integrity.
Thermally treated glass (either heat strengthened or toughened) requires that some conditions/restrictions, regarding the size of incisions and the radius of holes with respect to the width of the pane, are taken into consideration before the safety glass treatment. Further information with respect to such restrictions can be provided upon request, by contacting VASGLASS.
The exceptional properties of thermally toughened glass make it ideal for a multitude of industrial and architectural applications, the most common being:
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HEAT TOUGHENED VS HEAT STRENGTHENED GLASS
ΕΝ 12150 Vs ΕΝ 1863
Depending on the speed of subsequent cooling, heat treatment lead to:
THERMALLY TOUGHENED (TEMPERED) GLASS
Fracture pattern for heat strengthened glass
THERMALLY STRENGTHENED GLASS (HS)
Fracture pattern for heat toughened glass
| Safety Glass | YES | NO |
| Mechanical strength | x5 | x2 |
| Resistance to thermal sock | 2900C | 1000C |
| Heat soak test for reducing spontaneous fracture risk | YES | NO |
| Structural applications | YES | NO |
HEAT TOUGHENED GLASS ACCORDING TO EN 12150
COMPRESSIVE STRESSES ON THE SURFACE OF THE GLASS DUE TO
RAPID COOLING
At VASGLASS, the architectural glass thermal toughening process is offered certified (CE marked) according to the European Norm EN 12150, under the brand-name VAS-SEC.
Impact Safety For Thermally Toughened Glass
VASGLASS, a company fully compliant with the current European safety framework, offers its thermally toughened safety glass with an additional certification (CE mark) according to the European Norm EN 12600 (Pendulum Test).
Specifically: The entire range of VAS-SEC thermally toughened glass, independent of emissivity levels (B1 with ε>0.25, B2 with 0.25≥ε>0.1 and B3 with ε≤0.1), is certified according to European Norm EN 12600.
VAS-SEC
FLOAT(mm) (e ≃ 0,89) 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19
LOW-e B1 (mm) 4, 8, 10 (e>0,25)
LOW-e B2 (mm) 4, 6, 8 (0,1 < ε ≤ 0,25)
LOW-e B3 (mm) 4, 6, 8 (e ≤ 0,1)
PATTERNED (mm) 10 (e ≃ 0,89)
| PRODUCT | WIDTH (mm) | EMISSIVITY COEFFICIENT | PERFORMANCE ACCORDING TO ΕΝ 12600 |
| VAS-SEC-4 | 4 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)3 |
| VAS-SEC-5 | 5 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)3 |
| VAS-SEC-6 | 6 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-8 | 8 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-10 | 10 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-12 | 12 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-15 | 15 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-19 | 19 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-PATTERNED-10 | 10 | ≃ 0,89 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B1-4 | 4 | 1 ≥ e > 0,25 | 1(C)2 |
| VAS-SEC-B1-8 | 8 | 1 ≥ e > 0,25 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B1-10 | 10 | 1 ≥ e > 0,25 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B2-4 | 4 | 0,25 ≥ e > 0,1 | 1(C)2 |
| VAS-SEC-B2-6 | 6 | 0,25 ≥ e > 0,1 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B2-8 | 8 | 0,25 ≥ e > 0,1 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B3-4 | 4 | e ≤ 0,1 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B3-6 | 6 | e ≤ 0,1 | 1(C)1 |
| VAS-SEC-B3-8 | 8 | e ≤ 0,1 | 1(C)1 |