Bent, Veneer-Encapsulated Heat-Treated Safety Glass Panels and Methods of Manufacture
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(19) TZZ¥_ZZ_T (11) EP 3 100 854 A1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: (51) Int Cl.: 07.12.2016 Bulletin 2016/49 B32B 17/10 (2006.01) E04B 1/76 (2006.01) E04B 2/88 (2006.01) (21) Application number: 16172838.1 (22) Date of filing: 03.06.2016 (84) Designated Contracting States: (72) Inventors: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB • ALDER, Russell Ashley GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO Fort Smith, Arkansas 72908 (US) PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR • ALDER, Richard Ashley Designated Extension States: Fort Smith, Arkansas 72916 (US) BA ME Designated Validation States: (74) Representative: Romano, Giuseppe et al MA MD Società Italiana Brevetti S.p.A Piazza di Pietra, 39 (30) Priority: 03.06.2015 US 201562170240 P 00186 Roma (IT) (71) Applicant: Precision Glass Bending Corporation Greenwood, Arkansas 72936-1970 (US) (54) BENT, VENEER-ENCAPSULATED HEAT-TREATED SAFETY GLASS PANELS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE (57) A laminated, bent, safety glass panel (30) for to form a protective barrier on the heat-treated glass that architectural or interior uses and a method of manufac- dampens the explosive release of its internal residual turing such panels. The panel comprises a single stresses in the event of breakage thereby preventing par- heat-treated bent glass sheet, fully-tempered orticles dislodging and subsequent disintegration. The vul- heat-strengthened, forming a substrate (32) encapsulat- nerable perimeter (37) and perforation (45) edges of the ed by at least one thin, chemically-strengthened, glass veneer sheet (38) are equal in size or inset to the edges veneer sheet (38). The veneer sheet (38), an alkali-alu- of the heat-treated substrate (32) with its deeper robust minosilicate or other alkali-containing glass recipe compressivestresses. Veneers may be laminated toboth strengthened by ion-exchange treatment, is cold-bent major substrate surfaces. overa polymer interlayer(40) and permanentlylaminated EP 3 100 854 A1 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) 1 EP 3 100 854 A1 2 Description States of America suitable for many architectural and in- terior applications. Heat-treated, heat-strengthened Background of the Invention glass, as defined broadly, is characterized as having a surface compressive stress of at least 24 MPa. Heat- I. Field of the Invention 5 treated, heat-strengthened glass, as defined more nar- rowly by industry standard ASTM C1048, is character- [0001] The present invention relates generally to heat- ized as having a surface compressive stress of between treated, bent laminated glass products, including bent, 24 MPa. and 52 MPa. Heat-strengthened glass has deep laminated, fully-tempered or heat-strengthened glass residual stresses that, if released, also cause a self-prop- panels for use as enhanced safety glazing material in 10 agating fracture pattern but into larger pieces. Without architectural and interior applications, and a method of secondary lamination, heat-strengthened glass is not manufacturing them. More particularly, the invention re- classified as a safety glass because its fracture pattern lates to veneered, fully-tempered or heat-strengthened includes larger particles. Heat-treated bent glass has rel- glass panels comprising an alkali-aluminosilicate, glass atively fast rates of production, owing to the quick cycle layer cold-bent over a polymer interlayer to form a pro- 15 of heating, bending, and rapid cooling. tective barrier that safely encapsulates the internal resid- [0004] Non-heat-treated bent glass refers to annealed ual stresses, which, in the event of its breakage, prevents glass, with or without later chemical-strengthening, which particles from dislodging and subsequent disintegration. has also been heated to temperatures of about 620 de- Relevant prior art can be found in USPC 65 (i.e., "...glass grees C. and then bent in its hot plastic state, but which processing..."), Subclasses 25.4, 104, 106 and others; 20 is cooled slower than "heat-treated" bent glass to prevent and USPC 428 (i.e.,"...stock materials..."), Subclasses the buildup of residual stresses within the glass. Non- 195.1, 410-411, 421, 426-438, and 442-444. heat-treated, annealed, glass has minimal surface com- pressive stress, typically not more than 1.38 MPa., and II. Description of the Prior Art is characterized as being without strength enhancement 25 but internally stable. Annealed glass without secondary [0002] As is well recognized in the art, there are a wide lamination is not classified as a safety glass product be- variety of bent glass products, involving both heat-treated cause its fracture pattern includes large, sharded parti- and non-heat-treated products. Bent glass is flat glass cles. Non-heat-treated, chemically-strengthened glass is which has been shaped while hot into a body having annealed glass which, following cooling, has been sub- curved surfaces. Typically, bent glass products are dis- 30 ject to an ion-exchange process to impart the surface tinguished by a variety of factors and characteristics. The regionwith ahigh level of compressivestress by chemical flat glass sheets which are hot bent are typically of a means, and thus enhanced strength. The compression "soda-lime silicate" composition available in raw sheets forces, while typically at a level on the surface far higher of exceptional quality and flatness as made by primary than fully-tempered glass, extend to only a shallow depth producers with the "float process" known in the art. These 35 measured in microns. The corresponding tension stress, raw sheets are usually clear, ultra clear low-iron, or they the same forces which cause fully-tempered glass to dis- may be tinted gray, bronze, green, or blue. They may integrate into small particles, are distributed across the have a coating applied by the primary producer to yield remaining thickness at a lower level insufficient to result special properties such as water-damage resistance, in a granular fracture pattern except on very thin sheets. scratch resistance, or low-emissivity and/or reflectance. 40 Chemically-strengthened glass without secondary lami- Heat-treated bent glass typically refers to a flat, glass nation is not classified as a safety glass because of this sheet which has been not only heated to temperatures typically larger fracture pattern. Non-heat-treated, bent of about 620 degrees C. and above, then bent in its hot glass has slow rates of production with long cycles of plastic state, but also force cooled to impart a compres- heating, bending, and cooling, plus multiple secondary sion/tension relationship between its surfaces and core. 45 hours in a salt tank, if chemically-strengthened properties [0003] There are two principal kinds of heat-treated are required. glass: "heat-strengthened" and "fully-tempered" glass. [0005] Heat-treated glass must be made as individual Heat-strengthened glass is cooled slower than fully-tem- pieces because of the need to force cool all glass sur- pered glass, which is cooled faster and exhibits relatively faces simultaneously to uniformly impart compres- higher surface compression and corresponding internal 50 sion/tension forces. Typically, optical quality and edge tension. Heat-treated, fully-tempered, bent glass is char- quality are both excellent, as each heat-treated glass acterized as having a surface compressive stress of at piece is produced as a single monolithic panel. A highly least 69 MPa., or an edge compressive stress of at least polished edge finish may be added before bending, and 67 MPa., and deep residual stresses that, if released in remains unchanged by the heat-treating process. Com- the event of breakage, result in a self-propagating frac- 55 pressive stresses in the surface of glass sheets are de- ture pattern into small, but sometimes clumped, dull par- sirable because microscopic flaws are forced closed al- ticles. Fully-tempered glass with appropriate testing may lowing higher thermal or mechanical loads including im- be classified as a safety glass product in the United pacts to be tolerated before a flaw opens and a crack 2 3 EP 3 100 854 A1 4 propagates into breakage. Compressive stresses within joining the sacrificial layer during processing produce heat-treated, fully-tempered glass provide enhanced blisters in the polymer surface and poor optical quality. strength which is at least four times the strength of an- [0008] There is an ongoing industry effort to transition nealed, bent glass of the same thickness Compressive away from the installation of single sheets of fully-tem- stresses within heat-treated, heat-strengthened glass 5 pered safety glass in locations directly overhead, where provide enhanced strength which is at least two times the unsecured release of energy within the glass may the strength of annealed, bent glass of the same thick- result in disintegration and the release of falling glass ness. However, the shape conformance is less accurate particles, presenting a safety hazard. For example, fol- than non-heat-treated bent glass, because the deep re- lowing a well publicized incidence of fully-tempered glass sidual stresses always slightly alter the shape with some 10 panels spontaneously breaking on balconies in a high- level of unpredictability. rise building in Canada, Supplementary Standard SB-13 [0006] Once the glass is heat-treated, excessive ther- to the 2006 Ontario Building Code was enacted requiring mal or mechanical loads including by impact may result measures be taken in the design of glass guards to re- in breakage with the release of internal residual stress duce the probability of injury from falling, broken glass. and subsequent disintegration, explosively in the case 15 More recently, the 2015 International Building Code now of fully-tempered glass. However there always remains being adopted by local jurisdictions in the United States a risk of such failure occurring spontaneously even years of America requires glass "used in a handrail, guardrail after production due to imperfections in the glass.