TYPES OF GLASS

SHEET GLASS

Sheet glass is used for glazing doors, windows and

partitions and is obtained by blowing the molten glass into
the shape of a cylinder.

The ends of the cylinder so produced are cut away and the
cylinder is flattened over a plane tray.

It is available in thicknesses of 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 5.5 and 6.5

mm and up to 1750 1100 mm size and is classified as

Ordinary glazing quality- General engineering purpose

Selected glazing quality -Class works

Special selected quality -Superior quality works such as

show cases and cabinets etc.

FLOAT OR PLATE GLASS

It is used for all engineering purposes and is superior to

sheet glass.

A plate glass differs from a sheet glass in that it has a

parallel, distortion-free surface obtained by grinding or
floating process.

It is produced by pouring the molten glass on casting tables

and leveling it to an uniform thickness.

Both the glass surfaces are then ground, smoothened and

polished.

Glass so produced is clear and contains unblemished true

plane surfaces and is available in thicknesses of 3 to 32 mm
and sizes up to 2750 900 mm.

It is classified as

CAST GLASS

Glass casting is the process in which glass objects are cast by

directing molten glass into a mould where it solidifies.

The technique has been used since the Egyptian period.

Modern cast glass is formed by a variety of processes such as kiln

casting, or casting into sand, graphite or metal moulds.

Architectural Glass Arts primary objective is to expand the role of

glass in architecture and make it more interesting, exciting, and
ultimately more meaningful for those who live, work and
experience it.

This is accomplished by expanding the diversity of applications

and the use of new technologies

Cast Glass is produced by heating plate glass on a mold to a

temperature sufficient for the glass to conform to the sculpted
mold surface. This creates areas of varying depth, relief, and
texture. This molded texture provides visual obscurity while
providing an appealing tactile quality.

Applications : Doors and entries , Office and conference room

walls ,Partitions Balcony and stair railings, Windows Lighting ,
Interlocking Glass Block walls , Pavers and stair treads, Shower and
bath enclosures

BLOCK GLASS

The glass block was originally developed in the early 1900s to

provide natural light in industrial factories.

Also known as glass brick is an architectural element made from

glass.

Glass bricks provide visual obscuration while admitting light.

Block glass is hollow sealed made by fastening together two halves

of pressed glass.

Glass blocksare ideal for applications requiring:

light control, safety (fire resistance, reinforced structure) heat

insulation and sound proofing, in addition to traditional
luminosity.

It is used for making partitions

The prevalent style for Basic glass blocks is a clear monochrome,

ideal for use in interiors and for exteriors, and the ability to
combine the structural aspect with the functional one of the

FOAMED GLASS

An excellent bulk material for civil construction and insulation

purposes.
It is a lightweight, extremely fine-pored expanded glass with
millions of hermetically sealed pores.
Since no diffusion can take place, the material is watertight and
achieves an efficient barrier against soil humidity.
Besides the outstanding mechanical and thermal properties of the
product, foamed glass manufacture is an exemplary process for
waste recycling on an industrial basis. Foam glass can be
manufactured fully out of waste glass, with only a minimum of
virgin additives.
Foamed glass grain is the product of choice wherever a finely
grained, free-flowing bulk material is required.
It is especially suitable for thin-walled thermal insulations, such as
for window frames, cement bricks and insulating plasters.
when Foam glass is cut, looks like a black honeycomb.
It is filled with many tiny cells of gas.
Each cell is surrounded and sealed off from the others by thin walls
of glass.
Foam glass is so light that it floats on water.
It is widely used as a heat insulator in buildings, on steam pipes,

SOLAR CONTROL GLASS

Energy efficient glass or Solar control glass

Some manufacturers produce float glass with a special thin coating

on one side which, allows the suns energy to pass through in one
direction while reducing the thermal transfer the other way.

The principle behind this is the difference in thermal wavelength of

energy transmitted from the sun and that transmitted from the heat
within a room.

The special coating often gives a very slight brown or grey tint to
the glass.

The coating is not very robust and would not last very long if
subjected to normal cleaning or external weather conditions - for
these reasons, this type of glass is normally only used in sealed
double (or triple) glazed units with the special coating on the inside.

Benefits
The benefits of using this glass are several:

Enhanced comfort: By controlling the penetration of the sun's

heat into a building, Sun Ban glass makes for cooler and more
comfortable interiors.

Energy efficient cooling: A naturally cooler interior space

automatically reduces the need for air conditioning, thereby
saving on energy costs.

Energy efficient lighting: Sun Ban helps save energy not just
through reduced air conditioning, but also through reduced
artificial lighting this glass ensures that sufficient daylight
enters the building.

Privacy: Obstructs visibility from the outside, thus protecting

the privacy of the occupants.

Aesthetics: Sun Ban is not just about functionality. The various

colours it is available in impart unmatched visual appeal and

TEMPERED OR TOUGHENED GLASS

Tempered or Toughened glass is made from
plate glass by reheating and sudden cooling
and is 3 to 5 times stronger than plate glass.
Although not unbreakable, it resists bending
stress better than plate glass and, when
broken, the pieces are relatively small in size.
It is used extensively in sports arenas, sliding
doors and curtain walls.

WIRED GLASS
Wired glass is produced by embedding wire
nets 0.46 to 0.56 mm into the centre of sheet
glass during casting. The minimum thickness
of wired glass is 6 mm.
When broken it does not fall into pieces. It has
higher melting point than ordinary glass.
Wired glass is used for fire resisting doors and
windows, for sky lights and roofs.
A special example of this is wired-refrax glass
which transmits 100 per cent more light than
the other glasses.

LAMINATED GLASS

Laminated Glass is made by sandwiching a layer of polyvinyl

butyral between two or more layers of plate or sheet glass. It is
also known as safety glass. The examples are heat proof glass,
sound proof glass and bullet proof glass.

Heat and sound proof glass - Two or more glass plates are
sandwiched by a tinted plastic inner layer. It provides high
resistance to heat and glare. By increasing the thickness of
plastic layer the glass can be made more sound resistant.

Bullet proof glass- It is produced by placing vinyl plastic

and glass in several alternate layers and pressing them with
outer layers of glass. It is used in banks, jewellery stores and
display windows.

Insulating Glass - It is composed of two glass plates into

which a layer of 613 mm thick dehydrated air is sealed. The
round edges are formed by fusing together the two glass

OBSCURED GLASS
Obscured glass is made comparatively opaque to sunlight.
These are also known as patterned glass.
They are classified as frosted, rolled and ribbed.
Frosted glass It is produced by subjecting the polished
face of the glass to a sand blast which grinds off the
surface. It can also be produced by etching on glass by
hydrofluoric acid.
Rolled glass It has a series of waves of desired pattern
on the surface and is also known as figured rolled glass.
Ribbed glass - A series of triangular ribs are produced in
the glass during casting.

COLOURED GLASS

Coloured glass is produced by adding oxides of metals to

molten glass:

Ruby red glass - Lead glass, 1 per cent of cupric oxide

and 1 per cent of magnetic oxide of iron

Ruby rose glass - Gold chloride is used as colouring

agent. Brownish red colour is obtained by adding oxide of
iron;

Blue glass - bluish red shade is obtained by adding 2 per

cent MnO2 and 4 per cent nitre (KnO3).0.1 per cent of
cobalt oxide in ordinary glass.

Uranium glass (greenish yellow) - 23% of alkali

uranate.

Selenium glass (orange) - Selenite and a reducing agent

or ferric oxide and MnO2.

STRUCTURAL GLASS

Structural glass is glass which has gone through a

manufacturing process to enable it to be used for
structural elements of buildings.

The resulting product enables walls, floors and ceilings in

buildings to be transparent and can even be load bearing.

Structural glazing is made by "heating sheets of glass

uniformly after manufacture until it is plastic and then
rapid cooling with jets of air.

The outer layers closest to the jets of air cool and solidify
first; they contract as they cool.

As the inner layers try to follow they throw the outer layers
into compression.

This process creates a glass that is about 7 times stronger

SELF CLEANING GLASS

Some manufacturers produce float glass with a special thin

'photocatalytic' coating on one side.

This coating uses the ultraviolet rays from the sun to steadily
break down any organic dirt on the surface using the
photocatalytic effect and thus loosen the dirt from the glass.

Selfcleaning glass also has 'hydrophilic' properties which means

that when rain runs down the pane of glass, it will wash away
the dirt previously loosened.

Together, the 'photocatalytic' and 'hydrophilic' effects allow the

glass to stay cleaner for a longer period than untreated glass.

Small particles of dirt will loosen and (providing there is rain) be

washed off fairly quickly, however, bird droppings and other
large bits of dirt, will take longer to be cleaned off.

Self cleaning glass may, from time to time, need additional

cleaning and great care needs to be taken with such cleaning to
avoid damaging the surface coating - never use any abrasive
cleaner, check with the particular manufacturer for detailed
guidelines

FIRE RESISTANT GLASS

In the event of fire, fire resistant glass

o Stops the inflow of oxygen, de-fuelling the fire
o Stops the spread of flame, smoke and hot toxic gases
o Can reduce radiant & conducted heat transmission
o Protects life and guards against property loss.

The 3-Major Goals of Fire Protection

Life Safety
o Escape (agress) of building occupants
o Provide safe areas of refuge for trapped occupants
o Access of fire fighters & emergency service personnel
Property Protection
o Containment within a limited zone or compartment
o Prevention of spread to neighbouring structures
Continuity of Operations
o Typically an insurance requirement or an item of self interest
for building owners not a regulatory issue.
o Limit interruption of operations due to fire damage

 Ground Glass In this type of glass one face of plate or

sheet glass is made rough by grinding. It is used for
maintaining privacy by obstructing vision and at the
same time allowing light. The ground glass is used for
bedrooms, toilets and for making black boards.
Opal Glass is also known as milk glass. It is produced
by adding bone ash, oxide of tin and white arsenic to
vitreosil (99.5% silica glass known as clear silica glass).
The composition is 10 parts of sand, 4 parts cryolite and
1 part zinc oxide.
Pyrex Glass It is made by fusing a mixture of sand, lime,
borax (Na2B4O7.10H2O) & alkali carbonates. It has good
chemical

laboratory

apparatus,

ampoules,

 Enamel glass is produced by adding calcined lead

and tin oxide to the ordinary glass. The composition
is 10 parts sand, 20 per cent lead and tin oxide and
8 parts potash.
Optical glass

contains phosphorus, lead silicate

and a little cerium oxide, the latter capable of

absorbing ultraviolet light injurious to eyes. They
are used for making lenses.
Picture

frame

glass Glass (and plastics) is

available specifically for picture framing; these tend

to be referred to as 'diffused reflection' glass or
plastic. They have high transparency but low

 Heat absorbing Glass It is bluish green in colour and

cuts ultra violet rays of sun. The example is calorex. It
is used in railway carriages, factories, hospitals, health
clubs and kitchens.
Glass Acid Etching (French Embossing) Acid
etching is often muddled with sandblasted glass. Acid
etching offers more finishes, degrees of transparency
and diffusion of light. Although acid etching is a more
expensive option due to it being a very specialised
technique using potentially lethal chemicals the effects
produced are absolutely fabulous.
Sandblasted Etched Glass Sandblasting is the
process of blasting the surface of glass giving the areas
blasted a frosted appearance. Sandblasted glass is
usually used to obscure the view but still transmit light.
Sandblasting offers a creative flexible solution for
example if the glass is sandblasted both sides a multi-

THAN
K
U.