A panel dialogue on the Fenestration and Glazing Trade Alliance’s (FGIA) 2024 Fall Convention coated a number of completely different makes use of and tendencies of safety-focused fenestration and glazing merchandise, starting from ballistic glass, college safety, and blast resistance. Data was offered by panelists Lothar Erkens, Matt Manning, Vaughn Schauss, and Mike Troutman, cochair of FGIA’s fenestration security committee, who moderated the panel dialogue.
In “Ballistics with Matt Manning,” Manning began by defining ballistic glass as laminated glass that has been designed and examined to resist assault from a selected weapon, ammunition sort, and variety of photographs. Bullet-resistant glass is discovered in lots of locations like banks and prisons. He famous that there are bullet-resistant requirements, together with ASTM F3279 for bullet-resistant solely and ASTM F1233 for bullet-resistant and compelled entry. Assessments contain several types of photographs together with a single shot and a pyramid formation.
Putting in ballistic glass in a typical, untested body creates a weak level, will increase the potential for all times issues of safety, and will increase legal responsibility, Manning says. Any ballistic glass must be put in in a body that has been examined to the identical stage of ballistic resistance, however it’s vital to not cease there, he says.
In “College Safety with Vaughn Schauss,” Schauss says, “College shootings all appear to have one factor in frequent: the home windows and doorways have been a vulnerability.”
Laminated glass in home windows and doorways can present security and safety, says Schauss. He famous a typical to handle what glass could also be wanted for college safety has been developed: ASTM F3561, Commonplace Check Methodology for Compelled-Entry-Resistance of Fenestration Methods After Simulated Lively Shooter Assault. The check simulates an energetic shooter compelled entry scenario the place the glass is pre-weakened with photographs from a 5.56 mm spherical adopted by progressive impacts from a cylindrical impactor. The glass is shot 10 occasions with an AR-15 in a selected sample. The glass passes if a 152 mm (6 in.) diameter ball can not go by means of with out touching the glass.
In “Blast Resistance with Lothar Erkens,” Erkens says there are a number of requirements for blast-resistant fenestration together with from the U.S. Division of Protection, Veterans Administration and Basic Companies Administration.
“Blast resistance is a really complicated subject,” Erkens says. “Blast resistance boils all the way down to standoff distances and the vary of constructive strain within the air following a blast.”
Erkens says there are three completely different distances for a lot of buildings: standoff distance from partitions with glazed openings to a managed perimeter, standoff distance from partitions with glazed openings to the closest avenue or roadway curb, and standoff distance from partitions with glazed openings to the closest authorized parking.
Contemplate testing and calculation choices, Erkens says. “You possibly can check to a excessive stage and calculate to a low stage, however you can not calculate up; it doesn’t work that manner.”
