Tempered Glass
Duglass

Duglass tempered glass is a safety glass, as in the event of breakage it fragments into small particles with minimal cutting capacity. Therefore, it is recommended for applications where there is a risk of breakage, such as automotive, sports equipment, urban and domestic furniture, partitions, and more.

Properties
The main characteristics of Duglass tempered glass are:

• Greater resistance to thermal shock.
• Higher mechanical strength in tension, bending, and torsion.
• Increased mechanical impact resistance.

A consequence of the tempering process is that once glass is tempered, it can no longer be cut or machined. Therefore, all modifications to the glass (notches, cutting, drilling, polishing, etc.) must be carried out before the thermal process. However, tempered glass can undergo other types of transformations, such as laminating, solar control and low-emissivity treatments, and assembly in double glazing.

Mechanical Strength Value
The mechanical strength of Duglass tempered glass is 120 N/mm², considering short-duration quasi-static loads and a 5% probability of breakage. For calculation purposes, the maximum working stress for Duglass tempered glass is considered to be 50 N/mm².

Fracture Properties
Duglass glass fragments into numerous small pieces, whose shape and size depend on the thermal process. The UNE-EN 12150 standard, “Glass for building. Thermally toughened soda-lime silicate safety glass,” defines the minimum fragmentation criteria for construction products, while specific specifications or standards define tempered glass fragmentation for use in railways, rolling stock, or furniture. Duglass tempered glass exceeds the requirements of UNE-EN 12600 regarding pendulum impact with soft body testing, achieving protection level 1C1 with 4 mm thick tempered glass (please consult our technical department).

Optical Distortions
Due to the tempering process, the glass surface may experience slight deformations affecting flatness, causing minor optical distortions in the final product. These distortions are more noticeable in reflected images and depend largely on the reflected objects and viewing geometry (more evident with straight-edged geometric shapes). Glass dimensions also play an important role in these deformations.

Additionally, tempered and heat-strengthened glasses, under certain viewing conditions, may display faint shadows, sometimes iridescent, caused by internal stresses created during tempering. These marks are more visible during times of day with highly polarized light (sunrise, sunset, or reflected by clouds) and occur in all properly tempered glasses.

Applications

• Areas with high temperature differences on the glass surface (sun-shadow).
• Zones exposed to strong winds, depending on the framing used.
• Snow loads and glass installed on inclined planes.
• General mechanical impacts.
• Direct exposure to air conditioning or heating.

Safety Performance
The safety properties make the use of Duglass tempered glass essential for certain exterior and interior applications. In non-residential building facades, Duglass glass is often used in vision areas incorporated into Ambience double glazing or in opaque areas to conceal floor slab passages.

Other exterior applications include canopies, cabins, advertising panels, and paddle courts. Interior applications are diverse: furniture, doors, room dividers, wardrobe fronts, bathroom partitions, refrigerator trays, and more.