Using Transparent Intumescent Coatings to Increase the Fire Resistance of Glass and Glass Laminates

The poor fire resistance of glass is one of the limitations in the use of glass as a structural material. Although recent developments in the field of borosilicate glass have lead to the introduction of glass panels with improved fire resistance the large scale use of borosilicate glass is not very likely in the near future. Intumescent coatings have been developed to improve the fire resistance of steel, aluminium and wood. A transparent intumescent coating should be able to increase the fire resistance of glass structures without affecting the unique transparency of glass. Tests and numerical studies have been conducted on stressed specimens of annealed float glass, tempered glass, glass laminates and advanced types of glass beams to test the effect of the intumescent coating on the fire resistance.

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The Authors

Dr. Frederic Veer Dr. Delft University of Technology Frederic Veer has been involved in glass research since 1995, developing new combinations and structures which use glass as a structural material in innovative ways. Currently the author is head of a ... Read more