Reflected Pressure
The amount of pressure felt by an object standing directly in the path of an
expanding blast wave.
Reflective Glass
Reflective glass is a clear or tinted glass coated with an extremely thin layer
of metal or metallic oxide.
Rolled Glass
The rolled glass process consists of pouring molten glass from a furnace, then
feeding it through rollers to produce the desired thickness. The glass ribbon is
then cooled under controlled conditions. There are three general types of rolled
glass: figured / patterned, wired and art / opalescent / cathedral glass.
Shading Coefficient (SC)
The ratio of solar heat gain passing through a glazing system to the solar heat
gain that occurs under the same conditions if the window were made of clear,
unshaded, double strength window glass. The lower the number, the better the
shading qualities of the glazing system.
Sheet Glass
The Sheet glass process accounts for a very small portion of U.S. glass
production. Some imported sheet glass will continue to be used, mainly in
thickness of 1/8" and less.
Side-on Pressure
The pressure felt on the sides and top of an object as the blast pressure wave
envelops and passes over and around it.
Sill
The horizontal structure that supports the upright portion of a window frame.
Spandrel Glass
Spandrel glass panels are heat strengthened or tempered glasses with a ceramic
frit color permanently fused to one of the surfaces. Glass in spandrel areas is
not subject to corrosion as are some other spandrel materials. Pleasing
aesthetics and economies can be obtained using a single framing system for an
entire wall. Glass spandrel panels can also save energy when insulation is
placed behind them.
Standoff Distance
Generally speaking, the further you are from a blast, the better your
opportunity to survive. Each site should be evaluated to assess its structural
strength, window frame type and attachment, and glass type to determine which
style of film application would be most appropriate to withstand the blast at a
given distance.
Tempered Glass
Tempered glass is fabricated by subjecting annealed glass to a special
heat-treating process. The most commonly used process is to heat the glass
uniformly to approximately 1150° F, and then rapidly cool it by blowing air
uniformly onto both surfaces simultaneously. The cooling process locks the outer
surfaces of the glass in a state of high compression and the central portion, or
core, in compensating tension. The color, clarity, chemical composition and
light transmission characteristics remain unchanged. Likewise, compression
strength, hardness, specific gravity, expansion coefficient, softening point,
thermal conductivity, thermal transmittance and stiffness are unchanged. The
only physical property that changes is tensile or bending strength. Under
uniform loading, tempered glass is about four times stronger than annealed glass
of the same size and thickness, and is thus more resistant to thermally induced
stresses, cyclic wind loading and hail stone impacts. When broken, tempered
glass breaks into a multitude of small fragments of more-or-less cubical shape.
Therefore, it qualifies as a safety glazing material under the criteria of
Federal Standard 16 CFR 1201 and the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) Z97.1-1984, when so labeled and certified. Spots or blotches may, at
times, be visible on tempered glass, especially when viewed through polarizing
lenses or in certain types of reflected light. The intensity will vary with
lighting conditions and viewing angle. This is caused by the strain pattern
induced during the cooling stage, and is not inherently a cause for rejection.
Thermal Stress
(1) All glass absorbs energy when exposed to solar radiation. (2) Tinted glass
absorbs more energy than clear glass. (3) Occurs when there is a temperature
differential between center of glass and shaded edges. (4) The ability of the
glass not to break is determined by its edge strength.
Tinted / Heat Absorbing Glass
Tinted or heat absorbing glass is made by adding various colorants to the
normal, clear glass batch to create a desired color. The four colors available
by the float process are bronze, gray, green and blue. Visible light
transmittance will vary from 14% to 83%, depending upon color and thickness. The
color density is a function of thickness, and increases as the thickness
increases; visible light transmittance will decrease as thickness increases.
Tinting reduces the solar transmittance of glass, has little effect upon solar
reflectance, and hence increases solar absorption (heat). This explains why heat
strengthening or tempering is sometimes required for the thicker tinted glasses.
Adding a metallic coating also has the same effect on thinner glasses.
TNT Equivalence
The quantity (Ib / kg) of an explosive material expressed in terms of the
equivalent mass of TNT required to generate similar blast values.
Total Solar Absorption
The ratio (percentage) of the total amount of solar energy that is absorbed by
glass compared to the amount of total solar energy that hits the glass. This
solar energy is neither transmitted through the glass nor reflected back out
into the atmosphere.
Total Solar Reflectance
The ratio (percentage) of total solar energy which is reflected outward by glass
compared to the total amount of solar energy falling on the glass. (Use of
window film can affect this.)
Total Solar Transmittance
The ratio (percentage) of the amount of total solar energy in the entire solar
wavelength range that passes through glass compared to the amount of total solar
energy falling on the glass. (Use of window film can affect this.)
Transmissivity
The amount of radiant energy transmitted from a radiating object through the
atmosphere to a target after reduction by atmospheric absorption and scattering.