Spontaneous Glass Breakage
Commercial Window Tinting Denver (CWTD) is the industry’s leading experts on the phenomenon of Spontaneous Glass Breakage, which can occur with tempered glass. This type of breakage happens without warning, where glass suddenly shatters without having been contacted by a person or object. This can happen at any time after the glass has been installed in the frame.
The cause of this type of breakage may be attributed to pre-existing minor damage at the edge of the tempered glass or a small nick or chip on the glass surface, typically caused while the glass was being transported or during its installation. In some cases, Spontaneous Glass Breakage is the result of a combination of these things. When glass is already damaged further deterioration may occur from movement in the frame caused by wind and temperature changes. Sometimes it happens if the glass is glazed into a substandard frame.
In some very rare instances, Spontaneous Glass Breakage can be caused by the presence of a Nickel Sulfide molecule NiS in the raw material of the glass. When glass goes through the tempering process in a float line, the glass is heated to a very high temperature and then quickly cooled. This makes the glass tempered and 4 times stronger than regular glass. The process of tempering results in the external layers of the glass shrinking on top of its internal layers. This is what makes the glass stronger. If Nickel Sulfide is present, it will cause the molecule to contract and during the cooling process it will become embedded that way, thus preventing it from returning to its normal size. If weather conditions are extreme, such as a very hot day or if the air conditioning in the building is extremely cold, the molecule can actually expand back and cause glass breakage. It is imperative that glass manufacturers take precautions to avoid any unwanted exposure to Nickel Sulfide products. Many manufacturers ban the use of aluminum soft drink cans in their factories to reduce their risk.
CWTD’s most popular product to combat the risks associated with Spontaneous Glass Breakage is our LLumar 4 Mil Clear window film. This film is twice as thick as our standard solar control film. It also has a water clear appearance, which doesn’t change the architectural style of your building and leaves your Denver, Colorado view unaltered. To view the LLumar 4 Mil Clear film specifications, click here.
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Contact Commercial Window Tinting Denver today at 720-505-8468 or email us at info@commercialwindowtintingdenver.com.