Optical Characteristics of Laminated Sideglazings

Alan C. Woodward & Charles Mason

The majority of laminated sidelight glasses have to undergo both a shaping and quenching process to achieve the durability required for window winding and door closing operations. Each individual glass ply will have a degree of optical distortion induced by the process which is magnified when they are laminated together. This can become very visible in transmission at shallow installation angles such as when the car door is partially open or from a rear seat passenger perspective. In addition the quality of the raw glass can play an important part, particularly as the glass gets thinner.

Car manufacturer standards and tests for the optical quality of laminated sideglazing are evolving. This paper reviews the various customer tests and tries to relate the sensitivity of transmission optics to the shaping and quenching processes and glass design. Practical examples and theoretical predictions will be given. Reflective optics are also sensitive to the shaping process and contribute to the vehicles overall showroom appearance. This aspect will also be reviewed with respect to laminated side glazings.

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