Image courtesy www.virginmedia.com

Installing blast-resistant glass in buildings that are potential targets of attacks or in regions prone to severe weather can save lives but unfortunately, most blast-resistant glass cannot be placed in a regular window frame. The upshot is that it’s incredibly difficult – not to say prohibitively expensive – to replace standard glass windows in most structures (Verrico).  So what can ordinary people who are not now and probably never will be Pope do to avoid being on the receiving end of jagged shards of glass flying through the air as a result of high winds or explosions

Image courtesy University of Missouri

A team of engineers from the University of Missouri and the University of Sydney in Australia think the answer is to install a “blast-resistant glass that is lighter, thinner, and colorless, yet tough enough to withstand the force of an explosion, earthquake, or hurricanes winds” (Verrico).  In contrast with today’s blast-resistant windows, which are made of pure polymer layers, their design consists of a plastic composite that has an interlayer of polymer reinforced with glass fibers.  And most exciting, it’s only a quarter-inch thick.

Image courtesy University of Missouri

So let’s talk about this interlayer for a minute.  Long glass fibers 15 to 25 micrometers in diameter (about half the thickness of a typical human hair) are woven together to form a kind of glass cloth, which is then soaked with liquid plastic and bonded with adhesive.   The small size of the glass fibers reduces the incidence of defects and cracking in the glass.   The fibers also provide reinforcing for the polymer matrix used to bind them together.  The glass fibers, plastic, and the adhesive that bond the interlayer to two thin sheets of glass on either side are all transparent to visible light.

Image courtesy University of Missouri

It is expected that the blast-resistant glass will “slip easily into standard commercial window frames, making it much more practical and cost-efficient to install…. The goal is to create blast-resistant panes as large as 48 by 66 inches (he standard General Services Administration window size for qualification blast testing) that can still be cost-effective. While dependent on results from upcoming tests, [the] glass could become commercially available in three to four years” (Verrico).  I can see this type of glass being mandated in the future in places like Florida and the other Gulf Coast states, and for government buildings all over the world.  And maybe it one day lightweight, blast-resistant glass will even be used to increase the fuel efficiency of the Popemobile?

WU XING:

I’ve filed thin, blast-resistant glass under water, fire, and wood because it’s a composite and it just feels right.

Cited:

Verrico, John. “A New Kind of Blast-Resistant Glass.” Press Release. US Department of Homeland Security – Science and Technology. 12/9/10. Accessed 1/4/11.  URL.