Automotive Glazing
Automotive Glazing
Automotive windows are usually made from laminated glass for windshields and tempered glass for sidelites and backlites. Laminated glazing can also be used for sidelites and backlites, mainly to improve safety and security.
Tempered Monolithic Glass
The "Securit" tempering process was discovered in Saint-Gobain's laboratories in 1929, in the course of research undertaken at the request of the automobile industry. The process, which consists of strengthening the glass by very fast blast cooling (from 600 to 300° C in a few seconds), is used to make automobile, building, and specialty flat glass. Tempered glass is also a safety glass. A violent impact shatters tempered glass into many tiny non-cutting fragments
Applications Generally, all windows except for the windshield. Type of glass Clear, tinted and deep tinted glass Standard thickness : 3, 4, 5mm Spectral data See table below for average values given for a thickness of 3.15mm. Tolerances depend on production and measurement methods. For detailed information and other thicknesses, please contact Saint-Gobain Sekurit.
TL/RL: Light transmission / reflection, type of light A, 2°, daylight viewing 380-780 nm
TE/RE: Energy transmission / reflection, Parry Moon, mass 2, 280-2500nm
TIR/RIR: Infrared transmission / reflection, Parry moon, mass 2, 780-2500nm
TUV: UV transmission, Schulze, ISO 9050, 280-380 nm
For more information on the thermal performances of Saint-Gobain Sekurit glazing, see the chapter: Thermal comfort .
Physical and chemical properties
- Density 2500 kg/m3
- Hardness 470 HK
- Modulus of elasticity 70 000 MPa
- Bending strength after tempering 100-120 MN/m2
- Specific heat 0.8 J/g/K
- Thermal conductivity 0.8 W/mk
- Temperature coefficient of expansion 9.10-6 K -1
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The manufacturing process for tempered glass
Saint-Gobain Sekurit tempered glass is produced in the following stages:
Step1. Glass pre- processing:
Step2. Glass pre- processing:
Step3. Forming:
Automotive windows are usually made from laminated glass for windshields and tempered glass for sidelites and backlites. Laminated glazing can also be used for sidelites and backlites, mainly to improve safety and security.
Laminated glass
In 1909, a French chemist Edouard Benedictus, invented laminated glass and called it "Triplex". The process bonds two sheets of glass using a sheet of transparent plastic, producing a safety glass. If the glass is broken by an impact, the plastic retains the fragments. The process is used for automobile windshields but can be also applied for laminated sidelites and laminated backlites.
Applications Mandatory for Windshields and available for the rest of the car.
Features If struck or impacted, the glass cracks in the shape of a spider's web.
The interlayer PVB holds the glass fragments together.
Improves Safety and Security
Improves Acoustic Comfort
Improves Thermal Comfort
Improves upholstery lifetime with its UV blocking property
Type of glass Clear, tinted, deep tinted and coated glass
Spectral data See table below for average values given for a glass configuration of 2.1 mm (outer pane) // 2.1 mm (inner pane). Tolerances depend on production and measurement methods. For detailed information and other thicknesses, please contact Saint-Gobain Sekurit.
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Material properties
Hardness 470 HK
Index of refraction 1.52
Temperature resistance At least 96 Hours at 90°C
More generally, all laminated glass passes all legal and OEM requirements concerning durability against heat, UV, moisture,….
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The manufacturing process for laminated glass
Automotive windows are usually made from laminated glass for windshields and tempered glass for sidelites and backlites. Laminated glazing can also be used for sidelites and backlites, mainly to improve safety and security.