The demand for high-performance glass like tempered borosilicate sight glass has gone up in recent years. They are currently being employed in several industries. They have also found their way into applications that require durable and reliable glass material.
High-performance glass is especially in demand for industrial and safety applications, where they have to withstand bullets and high pressures. Not only but also have they found their way into lighting products, military, and medical applications.
High-performance glass stress points
It is the high breaking point and the manner of shattering that has raised the value of high-performance glass. High-performance glass like tempered soda lime glass never breaks into long sharp pieces. Instead, they always shatter into small pebbles that are less likely to cause injury. They are particularly used where glass is expected to endure harsh conditions.
High pressure
Glass is being employed in different applications. It has to endure high pressure at architectural sites. Not only but also has it to withstand pressure in the marine environment, along with the stress that it is going to face in aeronautical applications.
Any standard annealed glass would easily shatter under these conditions. So, it is a must to use tempered glass that is capable of withstanding harsh conditions. Tempered glasses like tempered borosilicate sight glass possess the durability that is required to withstand these harsh conditions.
Intense temperatures
Tempered glass has found its way in industrial applications as well. This is primarily because windows in machinery are required. The glass used there is supposed to endure high pressure and high temperature. Yet, only tempered glasses like tempered soda lime glass are capable of withstanding such conditions.
Harsh, wet, and extreme environments
Activities that involve going out in harsh conditions require equipment that is capable of withstanding the harsh environment. The high-performance glass possesses excellent thermal resistance and tensile strength. Due to this, it is capable of withstanding such conditions.
Explosions, bullets, and projectiles
There are several areas where high-performance glasses are required. It is expected of them that they would withstand the conditions and wouldn’t shatter under stress. These areas are car windshields and industrial windows. However, even if they shatter, they shatter into such small pieces that they cause no harm at all.
What is tempered glass?
The standard annealed glasses are designed in a way that their interior and exterior cool at the same rate. However, an extreme heating and cooling phase is used in the production of tempered glass. Moreover, it is designed in a way that the exterior hardens and cools down at a faster rate than the interior.
This way the exterior of glass compresses the interior. In this way, a much higher tensile strength in the glass is produced as compared to standard annealed glass. Moreover, the tempered glass is more heat resistant and can bear temperatures up to 470 degrees Fahrenheit. However, to date, its main benefit is not shattering into sharp pieces, which is due to the compression present in the glass.
How glass is tempered?
To prepare tempered glass, first of all, a piece of glass is cut into the required shape and size. After this, the glass is carefully cleaned and it is made sure that there are no imperfections in the glass. The tempering process is greatly impacted by imperfections. After this, the glass is put into the oven and heated to high temperatures.
Once the glass has been sufficiently heated, it is taken out of the oven. Then it is placed in a cold air current to produce the required tension. This is how the glass is given its strength.
