AS/NZS 2208 Safety Glazing Materials in Buildings

A joint Australian/New Zealand standard, “AS/NZS 2208 Safety glazing materials for buildings”, published by the Australian Standards Council, describes the test requirements for safety glazing intended for use in buildings. The test requirements for different glazing materials are designed to promote safety and reduce or minimise the potential for cutting and piercing injuries. The types of safety glazing materials covered are laminated, toughened, organic coated and organic backed safety mirrors.

Alternative methods for determining compliance with this standard are included in the annex to the standard (Annex A). This standard is not intended to restrict the use of materials or test methods not specified herein where such materials or test methods can be shown to be equal or superior to those specified. Notes on safety performance criteria and human dynamics data are included in the annex to the standard (Annex B). This standard defines safety glass marking requirements.

This standard applies to all safety glazing materials used as required by the standard “AS 1288 Glass in buildings - Selection and installation”.

If the glazing material is in a position where accidental breakage is reasonably foreseeable, the glazing materials and thicknesses required for the wind load may not be adequate. The accident rate from breakage of poorly glazed glazing material is significant in most age groups. Studies have shown that a high proportion of all reported accidents involving glazing material involve glazed doors and side panels in all types of buildings. Safety glazing materials that meet the requirements of this standard in a variety of hazard areas reduce the risk of injury. Although these safety glazing materials will break under sufficient impact, their breakage characteristics are such that the potential for cutting and puncture injuries is minimized.

The purpose of the impact test is to evaluate the fracture properties of a safety glazing material that has been broken at a predetermined minimum impact energy level based on the intended application of the material. If the safety glazing material does not break at this minimum energy level, it should be retested at higher energy levels until it does break so that the fracture properties can be evaluated.

For the purposes of this standard, the following definitions apply:

• Fall height is the vertical distance from the horizontal centerline of the maximum diameter of the impacting object when released to the horizontal centerline of the impacting object when at rest.
• Heat-strengthened glass is glass that has undergone a special heat treatment so that the residual surface compressive stresses are between 24 MPa and 45 MPa.
• Heat-strengthened laminated safety glass is laminated safety glass that uses two or more heat-strengthened glass panels in its structure.
• Laminated safety glass is glass composed of two or more glass panes permanently bonded together by one or more plastic interlayers.
• Liquid laminated safety glass is a glass composed of two or more glass panes permanently bonded together with liquid chemicals and cured to form a plastic-type interlayer.
• A safety double (or multiple) glass unit is a double (or multiple) glass unit in which all panels are made of safety glass material and separated by air gaps.
• Safety glazing materials are materials that are structured, processed, or permanently bonded with other materials to reduce the possibility of cutting and piercing injuries to people when struck. All safety glazing materials are classified as Class A or Class B.
• A safety organic-supported mirror is a glass material consisting of a piece of mirror with a sheet of organic material permanently bonded to one side.
• Safety organic coated glass is a glass material consisting of a piece of glass coated on one or both sides with a continuous polymeric coating, sheet or film and permanently bonded to it.
• Safety plastic glazing material is a glass material containing an organic substance with a large molecular mass as a basic component, which is solid in its finished form and can be flow-formed at some stage of its manufacture or processing into finished products. The plastic may consist of a single sheet of plastic material, a combination of two or more such sheets laminated together, or a combination of plastic material and reinforcement material in the form of fibers or flakes.
• Safety wire glass is a single sheet of glass with the wire completely embedded within the glass.
• Toughened laminated safety glass is laminated safety glass that uses two panels of toughened safety glass in its construction.
• Toughened safety glass is glass that has been converted into safety glass by undergoing a pre-stressing process so that if it breaks, the entire piece shatters into small, relatively harmless particles.

Tests should be performed to ensure compliance of safety glazing materials with this standard. Separate tests should be performed for different glazing materials or for differences within a glazing material type that may significantly affect performance in impact, shatter or environmental durability tests. These differences may include, but are not limited to, nominal thickness or thicknesses, method of manufacture, types and amounts of additives, and composition of base materials and adhesives.

All safety glazing materials must be classified as Class A or Class B in accordance with the performance requirements specified in this standard.

This standard specifies the thickness, dimensional tolerance, squareness of rectangular panels and flatness of panels required for safety glass to comply with this standard. For safety materials other than safety glass (i.e. plastic), the manufacturer's recommendation should be followed. Before firing, toughened safety glass should be finished to a minimum standard where all edges are smoothed. Flat edges are created by grinding a chamfer or bevel approximately 1 mm wide on all sharp edges and corners.

Our organization, which has been trying to support businesses from every sector with its testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies carried out in a wide range for years, has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. In this context, testing services in accordance with the "AS/NZS 2208 Safety glass materials in buildings" standard are also provided to businesses.