{"id":3381,"date":"2015-09-10T09:09:45","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T06:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glastory.net\/?p=3381"},"modified":"2022-11-09T16:47:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T14:47:17","slug":"curved-glass-an-obstacle-or-an-opportunity-in-glass-architechture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glastory.net\/pt-br\/curved-glass-an-obstacle-or-an-opportunity-in-glass-architechture\/","title":{"rendered":"Curved glass: an obstacle or opportunity in glass architecture?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s great about today\u2019s technology is that it allows us to push the known limits into an exciting, unknown territory. We can innovate, study and create truly life-changing designs. This is what we are starting to see in the form of curves and shapes in the field of glass architecture.<\/p>\n

And as the latest architectural design trends suggest, the world is ready for curved glass. We\u2019re willing to include bent and curved glass as well as more innovative shapes in our buildings.<\/p>\n

By the way, if you\u2019re interested in knowing more about current building trends, I recommend that you read Jorma Vitkala\u2019s latest blog on glass design trends<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why curved glass?<\/h2>\n

The visual appeal is not the only aspect driving designers all over the world towards curved glass. Surprisingly enough, curved glass is also highly efficient when used in structural glazing applications.<\/p>\n

Not only that, the arching actually makes it highly load resistant. When used properly, arching also minimizes deflections. In practice, curved glass solutions are excellent in structural applications. And when designed well, they can reduce the use of other building materials.<\/p>\n

\"Curved

Source: www.gpd.fi<\/a> \u00a9 Gianni Royer-Carfagni, University of Parma, Italy<\/p>\n

Is today\u2019s technology an obstacle or opportunity?<\/h2>\n

Some might consider today\u2019s processing technology to be a bottleneck for cost-effective curved glass production. That might be true for some companies. But for us, it\u2019s an opportunity. Below, I\u2019ll summarize the main glass bending technologies used today.<\/p>\n

That said, I hope this post will give you a new perspective on what can be achieved today. And for added value, I\u2019ll also enlighten you about the possibilities of tomorrow. Let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n

The glass bending technologies today are:<\/strong>
\n– Bending and tempering
\n– Hot bending
\n– Cold bending
\n– Laminated bending<\/p>\n

Let’s take a deeper look\u00a0at these\u00a0technologies.<\/p>\n

Bending and tempering<\/h2>\n

Most commonly in the bending and tempering process, the glass is first heated to over 630 \u00b0C. Once heated, the glass is then bent to its target radius in the bending station.<\/p>\n

Although bending systems most commonly produce cylindrical forms, it\u2019s not uncommon to produce small bi-directional bending by angling the glass during the process.<\/p>\n

The glass can be twisted into the direction in which the glass flows, which is known as lengthwise bending. It can also be bent crosswise across the glass flow, which is called crosswise bending.<\/p>\n

As quality is always a key consideration, lengthwise bending provides a better quality result in terms of optical quality.<\/p>\n

FACT:\u00a0<\/strong>Bent and tempered glass offers excellent mechanical strength and durability against temperature variations. The maximum bending angle is usually \u00bc of a circle.<\/p>\n

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