Gewe-composite® is a new high-tech material which creates a symbiosis of the properties of glass and transparent polymers and boasts weight saving of up to 30 %. This special laminated glass consisting of two (or more) thin mono glasses are stuck in a shear connection using a transparent plastic core. This produces a composite material of glass and polymer where the polymer not only provides an extremely high residual strength of the composite and splinter bonding, but is itself a statically bearing component of the composite elements.
"Cold-bending" glass cylindrically dispenses high temperatures and the connected in-vestments in system technology, and therefore is an interesting solution for production of small to medium-sized batches of cylindrically bent glass. Previous approaches for "cold-bending" glass are based on mechanically compensating the appearing return forces by clamping the pane in the sub-construction frame or by using wire ropes as a secant to keep the ends of the curve in shape. The Schollglas group has developed a new approach: the focus was on the development of a suitable polymeric material in coordination with the required process engineering to dissipate the shearing forces that appear at deformation through an interim layer and thus to obtain permanent de-formation.
What is behind this product? Gewe-composite® laminated safety glass consists of at least two glass panels (float glass, patterned glass, heat strengthened glass [TVG], toughened safety glass [ESG] or heat-soaked toughened safety glass [ESG-H]) and a polymer interim layer. The glass panels have maximum dimensions of 2.50 m x 3.21 m. Gewe-composite® can be used as a composite safety glass (laminated safety glass; VSG) supported in the sense of the technical regulations for the use of glazing with linear supports (TRLV). The minimum thickness of the composite is 2.00 mm. The composite safety glass is bent under room temperature
The lightweight glass technology allows the integration of various elements (e.g. metal angles) in the composite material and as such, to connect glass and sub-constructions. In addition to the lower net weight, Gewe-composite® is characterised by transparency, high resistance to ageing and weathering, a high mechanical strength, perfect flatness, high UV transparency, a minimal risk of fracturing and higher elasticity.
In particular for traditional glass construction interesting synergies arise due to the special features of Gewe-composite®. In the simplest case integration of the shearing com-pound into Gewe-composite® allows using a thinner layer of composite safety glass overhead; this enables great savings for the sub-construction. Furthermore Gewe-composite® is particularly interesting for the constructional area; for example, it can be used for very large spans by pre-stressing it (similar to pre-stressed concrete) along the main load direction. Schollglas already produced composite- laminates supported on two sides which showed no bend from the load of their own dead weight at a free span of four meters, even though they were only made of 2 x 4 mm glass.
Glass is more than just a functional building material: It is a style element in architecture and stands for transparency and versatility.
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