Viridian VLam™

The starting point for safety, security, noise and structural integrity

The term ‘Safety glass’ is applied to glazing used to reduce the risk of injury from an accidental impact and consequential glass breakage. Safety glass is used extensively in both domestic and commercial buildings, to the requirements of the Building Codes. Viridian offers the following types of safety glass:

• Viridian VLam™ – Laminated safety glass
• Viridian VTough™ – Toughened glass
• Viridian VLam Tough™ – Toughened Laminated glass
• Viridian DécorPattern™ glass – safety wired
• Viridian DécorMirror™ Safe – safety mirror

Critical locations where safety glass must be considered are outlined in AS1288 and NZS4223:

• Doors and sidelights
• Glass capable of being mistaken, for an opening and glazing within 500mm of the floor
• Shower and bath enclosures including bathroom windows
• Shopfronts and internal partitions
• Balustrades and stairwells
• Schools and childcare buildings where glass is within 1000mm of the floor
• Special activity buildings, such as gyms and swimming pools
• Overhead glazing or sloped glass

AS1288 or NZS 4223 and AS/NZS 2208

These standards recognise two grades of safety glass – Grade A and Grade B, laminated, toughened and toughened laminate glass are all rated Grade A manufactured to AS/NZS 2208, offering a high level of protection against injury. Laminated glass also offers security and noise control benefits. Grade B safety glass provides a lower level of safety. Safety wired glass is rated Grade B and is limited in its applications. AS1288 or NZS 4223 and the respective Building Codes identify minimum areas where safety glass must be used.

Product details

• Viridian VLam™ (Grade A safety glass) Laminated glass provides protection from injury caused by sharp splinters of broken glass. If broken, laminated glass sticks to the PVB interlayer and generally stays in the window frame to provide added safety
• Viridian VTough™ (Grade A safety glass) toughened glass is up to five times stronger than annealed glass. On impact, it breaks into small pieces, reducing the risk of injury caused by glass splinters
• Viridian VLam Tough™ (Grade A safety glass) The optimum in safety glass. Each piece of glass is toughened to provide superior structural strength when compared to annealed glass and then these pieces are bonded together using either PVB or Resin as the interlayer medium, to ensure if the glass breaks the pieces are held together by the interlayer
• Viridian DécorPattern™ wired glass – (GradeB safety glass) wired glass is a glass with a wire mesh embedded into it. When broken, sharp fragments of glass remain attached to the wire, offering protection from injury and resisting penetration
• Viridian DécorMirror Safe™ – safety mirror. This is a high specification mirror with a special safety backing film to retain broken pieces of mirror if broken from impact.

Product description

Viridian VLam™ consists of two or more sheets of glass bonded together by heat and pressure with an interlayer of either PVB, EVA or a specialist high strength ionoplast interlayer.

Resin Pour or Cast In Place (CIP) is another form of lamination. Edge tape is applied to the edge of the glasses before a liquid resin is poured between the two sheets. The resin is cured under UV lights. The result is a durable, adaptable high performance glazing material that can provide solutions to many architectural applications. Within the Viridian range there are a wide variety of laminated glass options.

Features and benefits

• Safety – in vertical or sloped overhead applications, laminated glass can resist penetration from accidental impact. If the glass is broken, fragments adhere to the interlayer and are retained in place. VLam provides safety from contact with broken or falling glass, or bodily injury by falling through the glass. In certain applications, toughened laminated glass must be used, such as sloped overhead glass
• Security – standard laminated glass provides resistance to penetration from physical attack. By increasing the thickness of the interlayer and its strength as well as using multiple glass interlayer constructions, products are offered for specialist security applications including bullet and bomb resistance.
• Noise control – VLam provides good noise dampening over the same thickness of float glass. By incorporating VLam into a Viridian ThermoTech™ insulating glass unit, excellent noise attenuation can be achieved. Viridian VLam Hush™ uses a specially developed interlayer for enhanced noise reduction.
• UV elimination – the PVB interlayer used in VLam eliminates 99% of ultraviolet radiation. When incorporated with solar control glass, fading can be reduced significantly when compared to normal glass
• Solar control – VLam can be manufactured with toned solar control glass and interlayers providing glare and solar heat gain reductions. Further to this, VLam can be customised with virtually any Viridian solar control glass for the ideal balance between daylight solar control and thermal insulation
• Colour and decoration – soft white frosted and translucent white interlayers along with the Viridian DécorPattern™ glass options are available for privacy and light diffusion. The Viridian Seraphic Design™ range can also be laminated providing options for screen printed colours and designs

Custom laminating

The laminating process provides almost limitless options in glass configurations. Combinations of solar control glass, special interlayers, Low E and coated glass, as well as decorative glass provide tailored solutions. Toughened laminated glass is also available for large overhead spans and additional safety in balustrades and Viridian Structural Glazing Systems.™ Glass options for floors and very thick glass for aquariums are also available.

Interlayer thicknesses

The standard interlayer is 0.38mm thick. Also available are 0.76mm and 1.52mm for increased resistance to penetration and security applications. A range of Windscreen High Performance (WHP) interlayers are available for automotive use. Resin Four or Cast in Place (CIP) is another type of lamination, this is available in New Zealand for customised solutions.

Considerations

• Glass selection and glazing and manufacturing must be in accordance with Australian and New Zealand Standards – for an explanation on each standard
• Interlayer colours are based on but are not identical to 6mm Viridian VFloat™ glass colours. Under certain lighting conditions some haze can be seen
• The glazing system must allow for water drainage or be completely watertight
• Certain sealants may cause edge de-lamination such as linseed oil putty – neutral cure silicone sealants are recommended
• Laminated glass edges left exposed are not recommended
• Warranty.