Use of Glass for Structural

Glazing
To Measi College Students
7th May, 2103

SriRam N
IGBC - AP

Saint-Gobain Glass India

Introduction to Facades
Facade is the exterior part of the building
meaning face in French

Made up of components or elements

Facade - Requirements
The facade of a building should
Be safe during construction & use
Retain its appearance throughout its life
Keep out weather & provide comfortable environment
Be correctly designed, planned & installed

Structural Design/Facade Systems

Types
Material used

Selection of Glass
Safety & Security
Energy performance

Structural Design/Facade Systems

STRUCTURAL DESIGN/
FACADE SYSTEM
FRAMELESS

FRAMED

GAS FIN SYSTEM

WINDOWS
CABLE NET SYSTEM

SHELL FRAMED
SYSTEM

STRIP

SPIDER BOLTED
SYSTEM

PUNCHED

TENSION TRUSS
SYSTEM

OPENABLE

STRUCTURAL
GLAZING
UNITIZED
SYSTEM

SEMI UNITIZED
SYSTEM

Frameless Systems

Bolted systems without any frames

Contemporary designs; Provide unrestricted vision

An image showing the louvre pyramid during day and night

Types of Frameless Systems

Glass Fin
System

Wide range of vision

Cable Net
System

Cables - Modern
appearance

Spider Bolted
System
Lightweight
Tension Truss
System

Articulated point fixing

Small mechanical
fixtures

Windows
Glazed openings on solid walls of a building
TYPES OF
WINDOWS

PUNCH
Framed glazing with opaque walls
on both sides

STRIP
Continuous Strip of window with
solid wall above & below

Structural Glazing
Bonding facade panels to curtain wall frame

Structural grade silicone adhesive / sealant

STRUCTURAL
GLAZING
TWO- SIDED
GLAZING

FOUR- SIDED
GLAZING

Semi-unitized System
Mullion & transom - fixed at site
Glass - structurally glazed to sub-frame
Sub-frame - bolted to main frame

Unitized System
Complete framework with
glass is factory fabricated
Prefabricated unit is
assembled at the site

Brackets secure unitized

units with structure

Comparison

Elements of Facade System

Aluminium frames

Pressure equalisation cavity

Curtain wall sections

Setting block

Gaskets

Adaptors

Sealants

Pressure plates

Glass

Cover caps

Brackets & fixings

Thermal break

Vent panels

Elements of Facade System

Aluminium Frames
Made from coated aluminium alloys
(aluminium alloy 6061, 6063-T5/T6)
Hollow sections
Corrosion resistant
Easy to design, form & finish
Types of aluminium frame coatings
Anodized aluminium
Electrophoresis painted
Fluorocarbon sprayed
Powder-coated aluminium

Aluminium Properties

Properties of aluminium
Density: 2.70 g/cm3
Melting point: 660C
Thermal conductivity: 0.5
Thermal emissivity: 3.0 (at 100C)
U Value 4-7 W/SqmK

Thermal Break
Made from fibre glass reinforced polyamide
Neoprene Commonly used material for themal reak

THERMAL
BREAK

Thermal Break - Benefits

Benefits of thermal break
Provides insulation

Improves energy efficiency

Structurally strong & durable
Watertight & chemically resistant
Same rate of expansion &
contraction as aluminium

THERMAL BREAK

Curtain Wall Sections

Mullion
Vertical section of the frame

Spans from floor to floor

Transfers glazing load to building
Has splice plates to fix transom

MULLIONS

Curtain Wall Sections

Transom
Horizontal section of the frame
Spans from mullion to mullion
Transfers dead weight of glass to mullion

TRANSOMS

Spandrel and Vision Units

Spandrel
Area between false ceiling & below next floor level
Insulated non-vision area; blocks light
Fixed area; not Openable
Insulated for high thermal insulation

Vision
Area between floor level & false ceiling
Allows Daylight
Can be Ventilated or fixed

Gaskets
Preformed components made of Ethylene Propylene Diene
Monomer (EPDM) or Neoprene

Provide a seal when compressed within a joint

Limit air leakage and water penetration
Allow relative movement

Accommodate tolerances

Gaskets

Gasket - Uses
To prevent glass metal contact
To prevent water & air leakage through joints

To provide sufficient system space for expansion or

contraction as well as thermal breaks

GASKET

Sealants
Used to resist wind, thermal & other stresses
Classified into structural & weather sealants

Staining or non-staining types

One-part or two-part

SEALANT
SEALANT
APPLICATION

Sealant - Properties
A good sealant must have the following properties
Adhesion to substrate material

Ability to deform under stress

Weather resistance
Durability
Cured sealant

Setting Blocks
Prevent glass to metal contact in a facade

system

SETTING BLOCK

Setting Blocks - Uses

Setting blocks are used to
Support the dead weight of glass

Prevent glass breakage

Support the entire glazing unit

SETTING
BLOCK

SETTING
BLOCK

Backer Rod
Used in deep joints along with wet sealant
Limit sealant wastage
Controls joint shape

BACKER
ROD

Pressure Plates
Extruded aluminium profile with mechanical screws
Fix glass to main mullion
Alternative to sealant in some cases
Cover Caps
Coated aluminium cap
Used to cover the visible screws
Neat finishing

Brackets
Made of mild steel or aluminium
Customizable based on the site requirements

Either welded or bolted

Support brackets
Restraint connections

Bracket - Functions
Brackets have many functions
To transfer live/ dead loads to the structure

To connect curtain wall to the structure

To transfer frame load to slabs

Slab-mounted bracket

Face-mounted bracket

Fixings
Attach curtain wall brackets & windows to structure
Required to connect to steel, concrete or masonry
Selection of fixing depends on load & safety
ANCHOR BOLT

Selection of Glass

GLASS

Strength
and Safety

Energy
Performance

Selection of Glass

GLASS

Strength
and Safety

Glass For Exterior Faade

Glass For Safety

Glass For Security

Against injury &

people falling
through glass

Overhead Glazing
Vandalism and
burglary

Against glass
falling

Fire-arm /
Explosion & bullet

Glass types
Types of Glass
Annealed Glass
Heat Strengthened glass
Tempered glass
Laminated glass
Insulation thermal unit (IGU)

Annealed glass
Annealing is a heat treatment that alters the
microstructure of a material causing changes in
properties such as strength and hardness

Process : Very slow cooling

Reason: Ease & precise cutting of glass
Annealing Lehr
typically 800m -1000m long for
slow cooling

Furnace
Float
Cutting & packing section

Sketch: Glass manufacturing line

Annealed glass
Benefits
Ease in cutting of
glass
Lower optical
distortion
Lower waviness

Concern
Not a safety Glass;
Breaks as large
Sharpe pieces
Least structural
strength
Tensile Strength
40N/Sqmm

Tempered Glass
Tempering Furnace

loading

heating

quenching
&
cooling

Thermally Toughened glass

Heat to 600 - 700C

Quenching fast
cooling through Air

Fast cooling of the

surface
thermally
"prestressed" glass

THERMAL TEMPERING
tension

compression

0.21 t
center tension
(defines break pattern)

surface compression
(defines strength)

parabolic internal stress profile

Tempered / toughened Glass

Benefits
Safety Glass; breaks
as small , non-sharp
edged pieces
High Tensile
strength
Tensile Strength
120N/Sqmm

Concern
Cannot be cut post
tempering
Increased waviness
and optical distortion
compared to annealed
glass

Heat Strengthened glass

Heat strengthening process is very similar to
Toughening, Except that the cooling is done is
Faster than annealed glass & slower than tempered
glass
Benefits
Better optical distortion & compared
to tempered glass

Concern
Not a safety Glass; Breaks as large Sharpe
pieces
Least structural strength
Tensile Strength 75N/Sqmm

Characteristics of Processed glass

Characteristics

Annealed Glass

Heat Strengthened
glass

Tempered Glass

Tensile Strength

40N/Sqm

75N/Sqmm

120N/Sqm

Thermal Stress

50C

130C

200C

Safety Glass

No

No

Yes

Breakage Pattern

Sharp large pieces

Sharp large pieces

Small Pieces

Laminated Glass
A composite material consisting of
two or more sheets of glass
permanently bonded together
generally by PVB
Vandalism, explosive & bullet
resistant is formulated by multifold
laminated combination
Glass

PVB

Glass

Insulated Glass - Process

Glass sheets separated by
Spacer bar
Primary/Secondary Sealant
used
Air space provides insulation
Benefits
Energy efficiency

Unit is assembled

Use of Glass based on Application

Application

Hs > 0.75m - Any Glass

Hs <0.75m
Hf <1.5m

Hs - sill height with reference to floor height

Hf - height of fall of human or glass
Source : Guidelines on use of Glass in Buildings - Human Safety

Safety Glass - Tempered Glass

Application

Hs <= 0.75m
Hf > 1.5m
Safety Glass - Tempered Glass
Preferred laminated
Source : Guidelines on use of Glass in Buildings - Human Safety

Laminated Safety Glass - Mandatory

Selection of Glass

GLASS

Energy
Performance

Electromagnetic Spectrum
Radiation emitted by the sun is called electromagnetic radiation
Solar radiation is the sum of
3% ultraviolet (UV) light
42% visible light
55% infrared (IR) light

Heat gain
due to Direct
solar radiation

Directly +
Re-emitted energy
= S F / SHGC / g

1#

2#

directly transmitted
energy

reflected
energy
re-emitted
energy

re-emitted
energy

Visual Light Transmission (VLT)

Percentage of incident light transmitted

Percentage transmission depends Tint & Coating

out

Light Transmitted

Factors affecting SOLAR FACTOR (SF) or Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)
Visual Light Transmission (VLT)

Clear

Green

Blue

Clear solar control

Greensolar control

Blue solar control

SHGC = 0.84

SHGC = 0.56

SHGC = 0.56

SHGC = 0.15 0.68

SHGC = 0.16 0.47

SHGC = 0.16 0.47

VLT = 89%

VLT = 73%

VLT = 56%

VLT = 10% - 75%

VLT = 8% - 54%

VLT = 8% - 54%

Amount of heat
Transferred due to
temperature difference

U Value

Area = 1 m2

U = 5.7 W/sqm K

T1 = 1 o C

T2 = 0 o C

U Value

Single Glazed Unit

Double Glazed Unit

Double Glazed Unit

Double Glazed Unit

U value 3.8 to 5.7 W/Sqmk

U value 2.8 W/Sqmk

U value 1.8 W/Sqmk

U value 1.5 W/Sqmk

Total Heat Gain

HEAT GAIN DUE TO

SOLAR FACTOR

Solar Incidence Radiation X Solar Factor / SHGC of glass

+
HEAT GAIN DUE TO
U value

Temperature Differential across Envelope X U Value

of Glass

=
SOLAR FACTOR + U Value

Total Heat Gain in Watts / square meter

Performance
COATING TECHNOLOGY
-

Online Coating Technology

Offline Coating Technology

Online Coating Facility

Online
Coating
CVD Coating
Manufactured during manufacturing of glass it self.
Process of manufacturing known as pyrolysis

Coating during the manufacturing of glass at 650-700C

Coating is done at the End of float bath area before annealing
lehr
Solar Control Properties Maximum 2 Coating Layers
Poor Spectral selectivity (Light transmission & SHGC ratio)

Offline Coating Facility

Offline
Coating
Manufactured in a separate process (offline) by
Magnetron sputtering on to raw glass

Spectrally Selective coatings (X10-9)mm

(Nano- metric thickness)
Post temperable Coating Can be
tempered, Heat strengthened & laminated
Solar + Thermal Insulation Coating
Single Silvered Low-e
Double Silvered Low-e
Nano-Multi layered coating
Electron Microscope

Energy Performance Comparison

SF / SHGC /g: 0.85

Clear Glass
In SGU

Solar
incident
energy =
415 W/sqm

354

400 W/sqm
U Value: 5.7 W/sqm K

46

SF / SHGC /g: 0.40

166

212 W/sqm

Solar Control

Temperature
differential
= 8 C
Solar control
+
Low-e

U Value: 5.7 W/sqm K

46

SF / SHGC /g: 0.25

104

117 W/sqm
U Value: 1.6 W/sqm K

13

Solar Factor contributes to over 80% of Heat Gain

Energy Performance Comparison

AC tonnage
for Cooling

Glass area
1000m2

Electricity
Consumption
For cooling
0.6 kWHr / TR
Operation
Hours
8 Hrs for
240 days

Annual
Electricity
Consumption
kWHr

Savings Annual
Electricity
Consumption
kWHr

Clear Glass
In SGU

114 TR

131,328

Base

Solar control

61 TR

70,272

61,056

Solar control
+
Low-e

34 TR

39,168

92,160

Reduced Capital investment on Cooling design

Reduces operation cost

To Summarize

We have seen
Structural Design/Facade Systems
Framed System
Frameless System
Windows
Structural Glazing
Fabrication types (unitized / Semi unitized)

Fabrication materials

Selection of Glass
Safety & Security
Application

Energy

Thank You..!!