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Could body armor be made from glass?

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Could body armor be made from glass?

Could body armor be made from glass?

Stopping projectiles and weapons in close combat has often been left to super materials like Kevlar, but some researchers think that new metallic glass formulations could find their way into the next generation of body armor and shields. Research teams from the University of California, San Diego, the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology reported the development of a metallic glass (amorphous steel) alloy that can withstand an impact without permanently deforming.

The discovery is generating significant interest because the material’s ability to withstand external forces exceeds those of any other steel alloy in existence. Metallic glasses have captured the attention of materials engineers because they are exceptional hard without being brittle. The material was designed specifically to survive extreme conditions. That means it can be created under extreme conditions without being damaged.

The material, which is currently known as SAM2X5-630, was created by mixing metal powders, which were then subject to extreme pressure and exposed to a 10,000-amp current at nearly 1,200° F. The production process is known as spark plasma sintering. That production method is preferred because it produces finished materials in a matter of minutes.

Researchers tested the material by firing high-velocity copper plates at it. The test projectiles traveled at rates between 500 m/s and 1,300 m/s. While the SAM2X5-630 samples did deform on impact, the deformations were not permanent. The test material is nearly 60 times stronger than ordinary stainless steel, and about 2.5 times stronger than tungsten-carbide ceramic.

Despite its promise, the new material doesn’t take the crown for being the most elastic. Diamonds are about 5 times stronger than the new metallic glass material, but researchers are looking for ways to make the SAM2X5-630 even better at absorbing more impact. The most likely way to accomplish that involves increasing the material’s weight.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. Glassprimer™ glass paint can be used in both interior and exterior applications and can help reduce solar heat gain in some applications. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Program Executive Office Soldier , via Flickr.com

New glass coating blocks heat, but not light

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New glass coating blocks heat, but not light

New glass coating blocks heat, but not light

Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) in Singapore have developed a new glass coating that rejects infrared light, but transmits visible light. Infrared light waves generate heat and can cause buildings to consume more energy. According to the researchers, the coating will be of most use in equatorial countries, which receive the greatest amount of full-spectrum light exposure.

The coating blocks most infrared light waves, which means that it could virtually eliminate solar heat gain on coated windows. That would translate into a significant reduction in energy consumption, which is the largest operating cost associated with buildings in areas that are close to the equator.

The coating consists of tin-oxide particles that are doped with small amounts of antimony. The scientists varied the concentration of antimony throughout the coating to optimize infrared rejection. Currently, the experimental formulation blocks about 90% of infrared light waves, while admitting 80% of visible light.

Commercial coatings that use tin-oxide and antimony are already on the market, but the ASTAR researchers used antimony particles that are about half the size of the commercially available coatings, and varied the particle concentrations to improve infrared light control.

An added benefit of this formulation is that it may be possible to add the coating to windows that are already installed. The ability to add the coating as an after-market process could help older buildings reduce their energy costs without the expense of complete window or architectural glass replacement.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. Glassprimer™ glass paint can be used in both interior and exterior applications and can help reduce solar heat gain in some applications. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Science Activism , via Flickr.com

Iconic Glass Structures – Flame Towers

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Iconic Glass Structures – Flame Towers

Iconic Glass Structures – Flame Towers

When you think of iconic modern architecture, you don’t automatically think of Baku, Azerbaijan, but a steel and glass building complex known as the Flame Towers may just change that. Designed as a mixed-use office, residential and hotel complex, the Flame Towers tower over Azerbaijan’s capital city.

In Azerbaijan, historians have found evidence of human habitation that dates back 100,000 years. Roman inscriptions dating back to the first century AD have been found there. Azerbaijan has been a political crossroads throughout its history, and has intermittently been controlled by European, Asian, Soviet and Middle Eastern influences.

The discovery of rich oil reserves in Azerbaijan combined with the eventual fall of the Soviet Union left the country with a burgeoning economy and a desire to build. Construction on the Flame Towers began in 2007 and was completed in 2012. The buildings opened to tenants in 2013.

The complex consists of three curvaceous buildings, referred to as the South, North and West towers. The glass façades of each of the three buildings can be turned into massive display screens, thanks to more than 10,000 LED luminaires. The displays, which often take the visual appearance of fires or the Azerbaijan national flag, can be seen from any point in the city of Baku.

The three towers range in height from 161m to 182 meters. The tallest of the three towers, the South tower, is a 33-story residential facility. The North tower offers 30 stories of hotel space and the West tower, which is the smallest of the three buildings at 28 stories, is used for commercial office space. In its entirety, the complex contains more than 2.5 million square feet of usable space.

US-based Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) designed the buildings. The buildings’ signature curves, which pay homage to the region’s historical worship of fire, are not just for aesthetics. Fierce winds blow through Baku, and the region is seismically active. The continuous curves of the buildings help them withstand the forces they encounter.

The glass used in the building façades is tinted both blue and orange, which allows the buildings to show a fire motif during daylight hours.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Firuza, via Flickr.com

New film can make any glass “smart”

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New film can make any glass "smart"

New film can make any glass “smart”

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new electrochromic film that can turn any ordinary glass window into a “smart” one. The film can be applied to any kind of glass at low temperatures, and requires only a few volts to lighten or darken the material. The material is able to control both light and heat, and could improve the energy efficiency of ordinary windows.

The Texas researchers collaborated with scientists in France and Spain to create the material. The material, which contains niobium oxide, is about twice as efficient as conventional smart windows. The film is classified as an amorphous structure, which means that its atoms do not ordinarily arrange in a typical crystalline structure.

Conventional materials adopt a uniform, crystalline structure that is replicated throughout the material. Amorphous materials, on the other hand, contain local arrangements of atoms that differ based on the material. Amorphous materials created at high temperatures tend to arrange themselves in dense, three-dimensional bonds. The researchers were able to determine that the new material, which is formed at lower temperatures, does not have the dense 3-D structure, but rather has a linear structure that allows ions to flow more freely through the material. The discovery provided enough information to predict the behavior of the new material and allow the other team members to create it.

The arrangement of atoms in amorphous structures determines what the materials can do. The researchers can use the technique to predict the behavior of other amorphous materials and optimize their performance. The researchers are now focusing on creating a low-temperature flexible material using the new compounds that performs as well as or better than conventional electrochromic materials. Being able to mass-produce the material at low temperatures will simplify the manufacturing process and make it both readily available and affordable.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Matt Taylor, via Flickr.com

Bauhaus Glass Paintings Displayed in Dallas

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Bauhaus Glass Paintings Displayed in Dallas

Bauhaus Glass Paintings Displayed in Dallas

The Dallas Museum of Art recently received a pair of Bauhaus glass paintings from the estate of Jim Clark. The paintings, created by Josef Albers, were among the few survivors of the closure of the Bauhaus when it operated in Dessau.

The paintings were shipped in two crates from Europe when Albers and his wife Anni (Fleischmann) Albers emigrated to the United States. One of the crates was damaged in transit and all of the works inside were broken. The Clark gift contains two works from the second, undamaged crate, along with a series of other paintings by Albers.

The glass paintings, entitled Walls and Screens (ca. 1928) and Windows (ca. 1929) feature designs of colored blocks applied to flashed, sandblasted glass. The DMA restored the works to their original condition, to protect them and allow them to be displayed publicly.

Bauhaus was a German art school that operated for just 14 years in the early part of the 20th century, but its legacy is undeniable. The term literally translates to “construction house.” The school was founded in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius. His concept was to bring together all forms of art into one school and reunite the arts with crafts.

Albers was Roman Catholic German schoolteacher who trained as a painter and printmaker in the early 20th century. He worked in many media, but is particularly known for his work with glass. Even though he trained as a painter, Albers created magnificent stained glass pieces, and was asked to join the faculty of the Bauhaus as a stained glass maker in 1922, shortly after the school opened.

Albers fit well with Gropius’ vision of the Bauhaus as a place where arts and crafts came together because he possessed so many practical and aesthetic creative skills. As a faculty member, Albers collaborated with other artists like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky.

The school moved to Dessau in 1925 and moved again to Berlin in 1932. Its third and last director, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is considered one of the founders of the modernist architecture movement, along with other notable architects like Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Bauhaus style in encapsulated in van der Rohe’s “less is more” philosophy. Bauhaus style includes simplicity and functionality. Simplicity lends itself to mass production, and that’s one reason the Bauhaus style became so popular among “ordinary” objects – furniture, decoration and interior design.

Because it was mass producible, the Bauhaus style was also readily deployable following World War II, when European cities were reconstructed and construction boomed in US cities. It made heavy use of common materials and simple, yet highly functional and highly elegant designs.

The Bauhaus closed its doors permanently in 1933, in response to pressure from the Nazi regime. Prominent staff members from the Bauhaus relocated around the world and promulgated the Bauhaus style of art education. Josef and Anni, who was Jewish, moved to the United States following the closure of the Bauhaus. Albers accepted a job at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, thanks in part to a recommendation by noted architect Philip Johnson, who was the curator of the Museum of Modern Art at that time.

For more information about the Albers collection at the DMA, please visit the Dallas Museum of Art website.

Photo Credit: Gaku, via Flickr.com

Recycling commercial glass

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Recycling commercial glass

Recycling commercial glass

Glass is easily one of the most recyclable of building materials, but commercial glass doesn’t often get recycled. Instead, most commercial glass ends up in the landfill. Why is that the case, and does it really have to be this way?

Even though glass is a very popular construction material, most commercial glass is already installed in existing structures. Because buildings are intended to last for a long time, the original glass often stays in place until someone undertakes the cost of remodeling or rehabilitation, or the building gets demolished.

Renovations, remodeling and rehabilitation all present an excellent opportunity to update commercial glass. The primary motivator for such an update is usually energy efficiency. In rehab situations, it may be necessary to replace windows that have been broken, especially if a building has been empty for quite some time.

Aside from these special situations, updating the windows in a building usually isn’t a high priority, largely because of the expense involved. When windows are removed or replaced, they’re usually carted off to the landfill, as part of the larger collection of construction debris.

When buildings are demolished, there is little incentive to remove the windows prior to demolition. There’s also very little financial incentive to do so. The market for recyclable glass is very small, so it costs less and takes less effort to ship old glass to the landfill.

Modern commercial windows rarely contain ordinary glass. Laminated glass, tinted glass and safety glass dominate the commercial construction landscape. Other specialized glasses – such as low-e glass – also have coatings and other additives that make recycling difficult, if not impossible.

While these types of glasses can’t be recycled, they may find additional use in fiberglass products or as components of concrete, asphalt or as landfill cover.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Meriwether Lewis Elementary, via Flickr.com

Who wants to live in a glass house?

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Who wants to live in a glass house?

Who wants to live in a glass house?

When you say “The Hamptons” and “real estate” in the same sentence, you’re bound to generate a lot of interest. One interesting property that’s currently on the market is a $5.5 million, 10,000-sq. ft, 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom home with a custom Scavolini kitchen, Gaggenau appliances, radiant floor heating, air conditioning, skylights, a heated pool and a garage. It also has floor to ceiling windows throughout. Yes, it’s all-glass.

If you’re worried about nosy neighbors, we note that the home is situated on nearly 2 acres and surrounded by trees. Lots of trees. And a 20-acre preserve.

The home was designed by Juan Figueroa and engineered by Jeff Smilow, who also engineered NYC’s Freedom Tower. The two-story home features two independent staircases that lead either to one of two master suites or four guest bedrooms. A quick trip through a basement tunnel will get you out to the home’s four-car detached garage.

The glass home design isn’t new. The late architect Phillip Johnson popularized the post-modern “glass house” design with his iconic Glass House, which he built in 1949 and where he resided until his death in 2005 at the age of 98. Built in New Canaan, CT, the structure, along with three companion buildings are now a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. Johnson was heavily influenced by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the fathers of modern architecture.

While the house in the Hamptons is a Johnson-style all-glass abode, most “glass house” designs feature glass on one or two sides that often face a scenic view. Heavy use of glass is becoming a thing for homes on both coasts that are lucky enough to have an ocean view. Architectural elements like glass staircases that appear to float from floor to floor are also a welcome addition.

If an all-glass home isn’t in your budget, you can still make excellent use of glass in decorating your own home, often with a little help from Glassprimer™ glass paint.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Jail awaits fire glass faker

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Jail awaits fire glass faker

Jail awaits fire glass faker

An Irish glass manufacturer who sold ordinary laminated glass as fire-rated glass received a sentence of 12 months in jail earlier this month. Glassworks Ireland sold the ersatz fire glass to schools, hospitals, universities, churches and nursing homes throughout Ireland, England and other European countries.

Fire-safe glass is typically rated in minutes, and describes the amount of time the glass can withstand fire and heat damage before failing. The purpose of fire-rated glass is not to prevent fire from spreading, but rather to increase the amount of time available for building occupants to make a safe escape. In addition, fire-rated safety glass uses special framing that is matched to the fire resistance of the glazing.

The fake fire glass is actually ordinary laminated glass, which can be purchased for around $1-$2 per square foot. After re-labeling it as fire-related glass, the company resold it for $18 – $33 per square foot. Prosecutors are not aware of any injuries that could be attributed to the phony glass.

The company sold the glass for about two years, and prosecutors claim that owner Seamus Laverty made about $175,000 in profits on the fraud. The judge noted that while his profits were not outrageous, the potential danger he created and the environments in which he placed the inadequate glass demanded a sentence that included jail time.

The investigation conducted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland relied on dozens of building contractors who assisted in identifying the affected glass. To date, the agency has identified nearly 100 sites where the glass was installed. Police estimate that the final cost of the fraud, which has yet to be confirmed, exceeds $600,000. The company has already begun replacing the laminated glass with genuine fire-rated safety glass.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: There is no roseability, via Flickr.com

Light emitting glass from Down Under

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Light emitting glass from Down Under

Light emitting glass from Down Under

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed light-emitting glass. The panes of glass can be used to make highly transparent displays. Because the glass does not lose any of its natural characteristics, it can still be formed into virtually any shape.

To create the glass, the researchers used a technique called direct doping. The technique involves combining both the glass and the previously prepared light-emitting nanoparticles under precise manufacturing conditions and closely controlled temperatures. Managing the temperature allows both materials to retain most of their unique characteristics. The technique is also simpler than other specialized glass fabricating techniques.

Light-emitting glass could be useful in a number of different applications. According to the researchers, the glass could be useful in medical imaging, sensing, and volumetric displays. One potential application (that has yet to be developed), would allow physicians to use light-emitting glass sensors to enter areas of the body that have traditionally been difficult to access, or that are currently only examined with fluorescent dyes.

The scientists created light-emitting glass because they combined glass with photonic particles. The technique could be used to combine glass with other types of particles to make a whole host of glass-hybrid materials. For example, the same technique could be used with electronic, magnetic or other kinds of photonic particles to create conductive or magnetic glass, or glasses with other light-related properties.

The simplicity of the manufacturing technique will allow the researchers (and research teams at other universities) to create and test a range of new materials relatively quickly. Because the specialized nanoparticles are prepared prior to production, the researchers can easily predict the behavior of the resulting hybrid glass.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Jeff Wilcox, via Flickr.com

Iconic Glass Structures – PPG Place

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Iconic Glass Structures – PPG Place

Iconic Glass Structures – PPG Place

PPG Place in Pittsburgh, PA is a complex of six buildings that serve as the headquarters for PPG Industries. The buildings are covered more than 1,000,000 square feet of PPG’s Solarban 550 Twindow glass– nearly 20,000 individual panes of glass and more than 230 glass spires. The glass panels give the complex a dark, mirrored appearance.

The complex is anchored by 1 PPG Place, a 40-story glass tower. The complex also contains a 14-story building and four 6-story buildings. The entire neogothic complex was designed by Phillip Johnson. Johnson’s design was inspired by the nearby Cathedral of Learning and Victoria Tower in London. Construction began on the complex in 1981, and the buildings were dedicated in 1984. PPG Place was one of the last buildings designed by Johnson, who is also credited with other iconic structures including the Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, the Lipstick Building and the Sony Tower (formerly the AT&T Building), both in New York City.

The energy efficient design separates the building’s interior and its exterior. The exterior glass helps reflect infrared light, which reduces the overall energy consumption of the buildings. The complex also features an outdoor skating rink which is open to the public in the winter. In summer months, the ice rink area features seating and a fountain.

In 2011, the complex was sold to Highwoods Properties. Other retail and commercial tenants also occupy space in the complex, which is about 90% occupied. Highwoods has made a series of controversial changes to the street-level façade of the tower as concessions to its tenants. At the same time, the company has also made improvements and renovations that have been well-received.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: zharth , via Flickr.com