Glossary

Adhesive glazing / adhesively glazed

See "Structural sealant glazing".

Air filled cavity

See "Cavity".

Airspace

See "Cavity".

Annealed glass

See "Float glass".
During the float glass manufacturing process, the hot glass is gently cooled in the "annealing lehr", which releases any internal stresses from the glass to enable the cutting and further processing of the glass post manufacture.

Anti-reflective glass

Surface-coated glass which minimises light reflectance and appears therefore to show virtually no visual reflection.

Arrissed

A basic form of edgeworking, by removing the sharp edges of cut panes of glass.

Aspect ratio

The ratio of the longer side of a pane to its shorter side.

Balustrade

A barrier or form of guarding, generally waist-height, which protects people from falling where there is a change in floor level, for example stairs and balconies.

Bead

A strip of wood, metal or other suitable material attached to the glazing surround to retain the glass.

Bevelled

A decorative form of edgeworking, where the edges of a glass pane are ground and polished smoothly at an angle.

Blast-resistance

The ability of a material to withstand blast pressure from an explosion, whether intentional or accidental.

Body-tinted glass

Transparent float glass with a consistent colour throughout its depth.
Bolted glass assemblies / assembly systems
Structural bolted glazing systems incorporating fixed or articulated bolts.

Bow

A form of distortion in toughened and heat strengthened glass, inherent to the manufacturing process.

British Standards

Codes of Practice offering guidance and recommendations on what is considered current best practice. Applicable to the whole of the UK and in most cases adopted by the Republic of Ireland.

BSI

The British Standards Institution.

Building Regulations

Building Control legislation laid down by Acts of Parliament.

Bullet-resistant glazing

Security glazing affording a defined resistance against the firing of specified weapons and ammunition.

Cavity

The cavity formed by the spacer bar between the two panes of glass in double-glazed units, is generally filled with air. The air can be replaced with argon for example, for enhanced thermal insulation or with sulphur hexafluoride for improved acoustic performance.

Ceramic frit

See "Enamelled glass".

Chemically strengthened glass

Glass with increased resistance to mechanical or thermal stress, produced by a process of ion exchange.

Cold zones

Areas in close proximity to glazing, especially single-glazing, where exchange of heat by radiation can lead to the sensation of feeling cold or draughts.

Containment

Glass used in guarding situations designed to withstand specified loads and prevent people from falling.

Condensation

Process whereby gas or vapour turns into liquid by cooling.

Critical locations

See "Safety critical locations".

Cullet

Recycled glass used in the manufacture of clear float glass.

Curtain walling

Non-load bearing, typically aluminium, fasade cladding system, forming an integral part of a building's envelope.

Curved glass

Glass, which is curved in form, produced by heating it to its softening point, so that it takes the shape of the mould. Annealed, toughened and laminated glass is available in curved form.

Daylighting

The reorientation of daylight by means of systems incorporating reflective and adjustable surfaces or grilles. Daylighting systems re-direct natural light, distributing diffused light in a roomspace and prevent strong areas of glare.

dB

Abbreviation of decibel, the unit of measurement of sound, measured against a logarithmic scale. A-weighted decibels [dB(A)] are "weighted" for the response of the human ear.

Deflection

The term applied to the physical displacement of glass from its original position under load.

Desiccant

Generally a pure molecular sieve- or silica gel-based product, the desiccant is placed within the cavity spacer bar of double-glazed units in order to dehydrate or to remove any residual moisture in the unit

Direct transmittance (T)

The proportion of solar radiant heat energy which is transmitted directly through glass.

Distance pieces

Glazing blocks located between glass, rebate upstand and bead to maintain distance, ensure adequate depth of glazing materials and constrain movement of the glass under wind load.

Double-glazed unit

Two panes of glass, separated by a cavity and hermetically sealed in a factory, to provide thermal insulation.

Double glazing

Glazing comprising two panes of glass for acoustic or thermal insulation.

DPI

Abbreviation of "Dots Per Inch" - a printing term referring to the resolution of a printed image.

Drained and ventilated

Frame types which help prevent prolonged contact between the edge seal of double-glazed units and moisture.

Dual sealed system

A primary seal of polyisobutylene and a secondary seal of polysulphide, polyurethane or silicone ensure the effective and durable seal of double-glazed units.

E, EI, EW

Classifications for fire-resistance according to BS 476:
E Ability of a material to resist developing cracks or openings from which flames or hot gases may pass (integrity).
I Ability of a glazing material to limit mean temperature rise on the unexposed surface (insulation).
W Ability of a glazing material to reduce the emission of radiated energy or heat (radiation).

Edge clearance

The distance between the edge of the glass and rebate.

Edge cover

The distance of the edge of the glass and sight line.

Edge seal

See "Dual sealed system".

Effective U-value

See "Energy balance".

Emissivity

Emissivity is a surface characteristic of a material. It is the relative ability of a surface to absorb and emit energy in the form of radiation. Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings reduce the normally relatively high surface emissivity of the glass. The coatings are mainly transparent over the visible wavelengths but reflect long wave infra-red radiation towards the interior of the building. The result is greatly reduced heat loss.

EN

European Normes or standards, which are gradually harmonising with and superseding British Standards.

Enamelled glass

One face of the glass is enamelled, by applying a ceramic frit that is then fired into the surface of the glass at high temperature. Depending on the cooling regime employed, this then results in either a heat-strengthened or thermally toughened glass.

Energy Absorptance (A)

The percentage of solar radiant heat energy absorbed and re-emitted externally and internally by the glass.

Energy balance

The difference between the amount of heat gain and heat loss through glazing. Also known as the "Effective U-value".

Energy Reflectance (RE)

The percentage of solar radiant heat energy reflected by glazing.

Enhanced thermal insulation

Conventional double glazing provides thermal insulation. Double glazing comprising a low-emissivity glass provides enhanced thermal insulation.

Fasade

The front or face of a building.

Face

The term used to describe the surfaces of the glass in numerical order from the exterior to the interior. The exterior surface is always referred to as face 1. For a double-glazed unit, the surface of the outer pane facing into the cavity is face 2, the surface of the inner pane facing into the cavity is face 3 and the internal surface of the inner pane is face 4.

Face clearance

The distance between the face of the glass, the rebate upstand and upstand face of a bead. Also known as front clearance and back clearance.

Fin

A vertical support made entirely of glass between two abutting glass panes. Also sometimes known as a glass mullion.

FFL

Abbreviation for finished floor level.

Fire resistance / fire-resisting

The ability of a building material to provide an effective barrier against the passage of flames, smoke and toxic gases and / or to reduce the transmittance of radiated heat.

Float glass

High quality, transparent flat glass manufactured by means of the float tank procedure, that is, floating molten glass on a "tin-bath" at extremely high temperature.

Free path

Referred to in BS 6180: 1999 relating to guarding and balustrading. It is the unhindered distance a body can travel in a direction perpendicular to the surface of a barrier.

Free standing barrier

A structural barrier where the glass is fixed to the structure, either adhesively or by clamping, along its bottom edge and has a continuous handrail attached to the top edge. The glass is designed to withstand all the imposed design loads and there are no balusters.

Frequency

The rate of vibration of sound waves per second, measured in Hertz.

Full height barrier

Where glass forms part or whole of a wall element it is classed as a full height barrier if any part of the glass is below the minimum barrier height, which is usually taken to be 800mm from finished floor level.

Fusing

The fusion of different coloured glasses at high temperature to attain a collage-effect in glass. 

g

Abbreviation or symbol for "Solar factor" according to EN 410, formerly abbreviated to SF or TT.

Gasket

Pre-formed glazing materials used for bedding or securing glass and to separate the glass from the frame or fixings.

Glazing

The securing of glass into prepared openings. It also refers to the collective elements of a building comprising glass, frame and fixings.

Glazing bead

See "Bead".

Glazing materials

The materials required for the glazing of glass products such as glazing compounds, tapes, sealants and gaskets.

Guarding

The prevention of people falling wherever there is a change in floor level by means of a permanent barrier. 

HST

Abbreviation for heat soak test. This is an additional form of heat-treatment, which is carried out after the thermal toughening process in order to reduce the risk of spontaneous breakage of toughened glass in service due to nickel sulphide inclusions.

Heat-strengthened glass

Glass which has been heat-treated in order to increase its mechanical strength and resistance to thermal breakage. It has fracture characteristics similar to that of ordinary annealed glass and is not classed as a safety glass to BS 6206.

Heat-treated / heat treatment

A generic term for glass that has been heat-strengthened or thermally toughened in order to increase its mechanical strength and resistance to thermal breakage.

Horizontal line load

A linear uniformly distributed load applied horizontally at a given height above finished floor level (e.g. 1100mm). Most often associated with balustrade and guarding applications.

Horizontal toughening

A thermal toughening process whereby the glass is toughened horizontally and supported by rollers.

Impact performance / resistance

When related to safety glazing this is the classification of safety glass when tested to BS 6206.

Inclined glazing

Glazing that is inclined at an angle between horizontal and 75° from horizontal.

Infill panel

The term applied to the glass panel underneath the handrail in a barrier that provides containment, but no structural support to the main frame of the barrier.

Inner pane

The pane of a double-glazed unit which faces the interior of a building.

Insulating glass

Fire-resisting glass fulfilling the criterion of E (integrity) and I (insulation).

Insulating unit

See "Double-glazing".

Integrity

The ability of glazing to remain complete and to continue to provide an effective barrier to flames for example.

Interlayer

The term applied to the material used in laminated glass to bond the glass leaves together. It can be either PVB, cast-in-place resin or intumescent.

Intumescent

The property of materials that swell and char when exposed to fire. 

K value

Former name for U-value on the Continent.

Laminated glass / laminate / laminating

Two or more sheets of annealed or heat treated glass are separated by one or more plastic interlayers (normally PVB) and subjected to heat and pressure, in order to ensure perfect adhesion between constituent elements.

Lehr

The annealing chamber on a float glass manufacturing line where the molten glass is subject to controlled cooling to obtain annealed glass, free from internal stresses, which can then be cut or worked.

Light reflectance (LR)

The proportion of the visible spectrum that is reflected by the glass.

Light shelf

A "daylighting" device designed to redirect light towards the ceiling or back of the room.

Light transmittance (LT)

The proportion of the visible spectrum that is transmitted through the glass.

Line load

See "Horizontal line load".

Loading

Generic term for the various loads, where relevant, exerted on a structure or elements of a structure including wind loads, snow loads, imposed loads for example those associated with accidental human impact, and dead loads such as self weight.

Location blocks

Small blocks of resilient material placed between the edges of the glass and frame to maintain edge clearance and to prevent relative movement between the glass pane and surround. Blocks used on the bottom edge of the glass are known as "setting blocks".

Long-wave shading coefficient (LWSC)

See "Shading coefficient".

Low-emissivity / Low-emissive

See "Emissivity".

Low iron

Referring to extra clear glass, which has a reduced iron oxide content in order to lessen the green tinge inherent to ordinary clear float glass.

Low level glazing

See "Safety critical glazing".

Magnetically enhanced cathodic sputtering

See "Sputtered coating".

Main seal

See "Secondary seal".

Manifestation

This refers to any technique for making areas of transparent glazing more apparent and easily noticeable, to help prevent people from walking into it. It may take the form of decoration, solid or broken lines, patterns or company logos and must be of a size to make it immediately noticeable and at an appropriate height between 600mm and 1500mm above floor level.

Mullion

A vertical framing section between glass panes.

Nickel sulphide inclusion

A rare, but naturally occurring impurity present in all glass that can, in certain circumstances, lead to spontaneous breakage of thermally toughened glass in service.

Non-insulating glass

Fire resisting glass, providing the criteria of E (integrity) only.

Non-vision area

See "Spandrel panels".

Octave band

The spectrum of sound is measured in bands of frequencies, an octave band is the band of frequencies in which the upper limit of the band is twice the frequency of the lower limit.

On-line coating

See "Pyrolytic coating".

Off-line coating

See "Sputtered coating".

Opacified

Glass which has been fully enamelled or painted on one side to make it non-transparent.

Outer pane

The pane of a double-glazed unit which faces the exterior of a building.

Patent glazing

A non-load bearing, drained and ventilated framing system, used predominantly in overhead glazing.

Patterned glass

Translucent patterned glass, manufactured by rolling heat-softened glass between embossed cylinders.

Pink noise

Expressed in dBA, this is an assessment of the sound insulating properties of a building material over specified standard frequencies, which represent general activity noise, when equal levels of power are applied at each frequency.

Point load

An imposed concentrated load acting on a square contact area of 50mm sides. Most often associated with balustrading and guarding applications and also to glass used in floors.

PVB (Polyvinyl Butyral)

The plastic interlayer incorporated into laminated glass in order to ensure good adhesion and the mechanical and safety breakage characteristics of the glass.

Primary seal

A butyl-based sealant, for example polyisobutylene, applied to the edges of the spacer bar during assembly into double-glazed units, to ensure a watertight and airtight seal around the perimeter of the unit.

Pyrolysis

See "Pyrolytic coating".

Pyrolytic coating / coated

A specialist metallic coating is applied to the glass "on-line" during the float glass manufacturing process. The high temperatures involved result in the metallic oxides fusing into the surface of the glass through pyrolysis and effectively forming part of the glass.

RA

The abbreviation for the sound reduction index when the spectrum adaptation term C is applied to the single number weighted sound reduction index (RW) using pink noise as a sound source.

RA, tr

The abbreviation for the sound reduction index when the spectrum adaptation term Ctr is applied to the single number weighted sound reduction index (RW) using traffic noise as a sound source.

Radiation

Depends on the context in which it is being used. Normally refers to electromagnetic radiation. It is also used in terms of fire protection, see "fire resistance" and it is one of the ways in which heat can be transferred.

Rebate

The section of the frame surround which forms an angle into which the glass is placed and held.

Reflective coating / coated

A metallic coating is applied to one side of the glass in order to significantly increase the amount of reflection by the glass of both the visible and infra-red (light and heat) range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Resin laminate

Two or more sheets of glass assembled with one or more resin interlayers. The resin is available in a wide range of colours for decorative purposes. Often used to laminate heavily textured glasses and thick glass assemblies for example to use in floors.

Road traffic noise

See "RA, tr".

Robustness

Certain thicknesses of annealed glass is considered suitable for use in large areas, in safety critical locations, for certain non-domestic situations such as shopfronts, showrooms, offices and public buildings. This is referred to in Building Regulations Approved Document N as robustness.

Rollerwave

An optical phenomenon, generally noticed in reflection, caused by contact between glass and rollers in the horizontal toughening process.

Run-up

See "Free path".

Rw

See "Weighted noise reduction".

Safety critical locations

Identified by BS 6262 part 4 and defined as glazed sections of a door, wall or other part of a building most likely to be subject to accidental human impact.

Safety glass

Glass which must have passed an impact test (BS 6206: 1981) and either must not break or must break safely.

Screen-printing / screen-printed

Enamelling the surface of a sheet of glass, either partially or completely, by means of a silk-screen and thermal toughening.

Secondary seal

A sealant, usually polysulphide, polyurethane or silicone, applied to the edges of double-glazed units after the primary seal, to provide effective and durable adhesion between the glass components and spacer bar.

Setting blocks

See "Location blocks".

Shading coefficient (SC)

The solar factor (total transmittance) of a glass relative to that of 3mm clear float glass (0.87) and is used as a performance comparison. The lower the shading coefficient number, the lower the amount of solar heat transmitted. The short wave shading coefficient is the direct transmittance (T) of the glass as a factor of the solar factor or total transmittance (g or TT) of 3mm clear float glass (T ÷ 0.87). The long wave shading coefficient is the internally re-radiated energy that the glass has absorbed as a factor of the solar factor (total transmittance) of 3mm clear float glass. It is determined by subtracting the direct transmittance from the solar factor (total transmittance) of the subject glass and then dividing by the solar factor (total transmittance) of 3mm clear float glass (g-T ÷ 0.87).

Short wave shading coefficient (SWSC)

See "Shading coefficient".

Sight size

The actual size of the opening that admits daylight.

Sight line

The perimeter of the opening that admits daylight.

Silicone seal

Where the edges of double-glazed units are unframed and exposed to direct sunlight, they are sealed with silicone for UV resistance.

Silvering or silvered

A process used in the manufacture of mirrors, whereby a silver coating is applied to one surface of the glass.

Snow load

An imposed load exerted onto a structure or element of a structure by formation of snow.

Solar factor g

The percentage of total solar radiant heat energy transmitted through glazing (the sum of energy transmitted directly and energy absorbed andre-emitted to the interior).

Solar heat gain

Solar radiant heat, transmitted or re-emitted by glazing into a building, contributing to the build-up of heat.

Sound reduction index (R)

A laboratory measure of the sound insulating properties of a material or building element in a stated frequency band.

Spacer bar

Generally an aluminium bar along all edges of a double-glazed unit, filled with desiccant, which separates the two panes of glass and creates a cavity.

Spall

Small fragments of glass that are ejected from the surface of a laminated glass sheet when the opposite surface is impacted.

Spandrel or spandrel panel

Glass cladding panels used in non-vision areas of a facade, commonly in curtain walling. They generally comprise an enamelled or opacified glass to conceal building structure elements such as the edge of floor slabs.

Spectrophotometric performance / properties

The collective term for the transmittance, absorptance and reflectance properties of glass of solar radiant heat and light energy.

Sputtered coating / coated

An advanced metallic coating is applied to the glass "off-line" or after the float glass manufacturing process, by a technique called magnetically enhanced cathodic sputtering under vacuum conditions.

Stepped-edge unit

The edges of the double-glazed unit are not flush. One pane is larger and overlaps the other, to enable their use in roof glazing for example.

Stock size

Manufactured glass products are available in standard sheet sizes: jumbos (PLF), lehr end sizes (LES) and standard stock sizes (SSS).

Structural glazing

Glass acting as a structural support to other parts of the building structure, for example glass fins. It can also refer to glass that is fixed by means of bolted connectors where the glass is not acting as a structural element.

Structural sealant glazing

An external glazing system where the glass is bonded to a carrier frame without mechanical retention. 

Tempered glass

See "Thermally toughened glass".

Textured glass

See "Patterned glass".

Thermal break

A type of metal frame that incorporates an isolating material of low thermal conductivity located between the inner and outer parts of the frame in order to reduce the rate of heat loss through the frame.

Thermal fracture / safety

See "Thermal stress".

Thermally insulating glazing

Double-glazed units provide thermal insulation.

Thermally toughened glass

Glass that has been subjected to a controlled heating and cooling process, in order to significantly increase its resistance to mechanical and thermal stress. Through the thermal toughening process, the glass attains its safe-breakage characteristics.

Thermal stress

The term used to describe the internal stresses created when glass is subjected to variations in temperature across its area. If the temperature differentials in the glass are excessive, the glass may crack. This is referred to as thermal breakage or fracture.

Tight size

The actual size of an opening into which glass is to be glazed and is measured from the rebate platform.

Tinted glass

See "Body-tinted glass".

Tinted interlayer

A coloured plastic or resin sheet between two or more panes of glass.

Total transmittance

See "Solar factor".

Toughened glass

See "Thermally toughened glass".

Translucent

Transmitting light but obscuring clear vision.

Transom

A horizontal framing bar between glass panes. It can also be used to refer to a fanlight over a door.

Transparent

Clear, permitting vision.

UDL

Abbreviation for "uniformly distributed load".

U-value

This is a measure of the rate of heat loss of a building component. It is expressed as Watts per square metre, per degree Kelvin, W/m2 K.

Uniformly distributed load (UDL)

Pressure exerted uniformly across a pane of glass, for example a wind load.

UV transmittance

The percentage of solar energy in the form of ultra-violet radiation transmitted by glazing.

Vertical glazing

Glazing which is either true vertical, or within 15° either side of true vertical.

Visible spectrum

Part of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths from approximately 380nm to 780nm, to which the human eye is sensitive. The combined wavelengths of the visible spectrum result in "white light".

Vision area

Areas of a facade which allow vision from the interior to the exterior. 

Warm-edge

Refers to the reduction of the thermal bridging effect around the perimeter of double-glazed units by replacing the conventional aluminium cavity spacerbar with a low heat-conductive thermally insulating cavity spacer.

Weighted noise reduction

A single figure rating for the sound insulation of building elements. Includes a weighting for the human ear and measures actual sound transmittance.

Wind load

The pressure, positive or negative, acting on an external surface of a building caused by the direct action of the wind. Commonly expressed as N/m2.

Wired glass

Glass produced by continuous casting and rolling, with a steel mesh welded at all intersections, embedded into the glass during the manufacturing process. The surfaces may be patterned or polished.