Bullet Resistant Glass:
One Way Bullet Resistant Glass
Uses:
This type of glass is used in most security vehicles, including war vehicles. It is designed to allow bullets either pass from the interior to the exterior or to prevent bullets from the exterior entering into the interior(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Design Characteristics:
In order for this two way bullet glass to work there must to two completely seperate layers, each catoring to the a different senerio. The exterior layer is made of brittle glass, while the interior layer is made of polycarbonate.
Senario One: A bullet fired from the interior:
A bullet fired from the inside of the glass casing will be met with an interior layer made up of a flexible polycarbonate. The chemical nature, explained later on this page, would typically absorb most of the bullets energy. However, because the bullet is being fired from a closer range and to a more specific area of the polycarbonate the layer will break outward, shattering the brittle glas exterior layer, without stopping the bullets motion(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Senario Two: A bullet fired from the exterior:
In this senario, the exterior layer of brittle glass, which will shatter upon impact, will shatter inwards while spreading the bullets energy, toward the polycarbonate layer where the bullets energy will be absorbed, stopping the bullet from passing into the interior(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Unfortunately bullet resistance glass tends to be more suceptible to negative environmental impacts, including UV radiaiton, exposure to certain solvents and temperature. Cold temperatures, for example, might result in pits of the polycarbonate layer falling off ("Bullet Resistant Glass.", 2012).
This type of glass is used in most security vehicles, including war vehicles. It is designed to allow bullets either pass from the interior to the exterior or to prevent bullets from the exterior entering into the interior(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Design Characteristics:
In order for this two way bullet glass to work there must to two completely seperate layers, each catoring to the a different senerio. The exterior layer is made of brittle glass, while the interior layer is made of polycarbonate.
Senario One: A bullet fired from the interior:
A bullet fired from the inside of the glass casing will be met with an interior layer made up of a flexible polycarbonate. The chemical nature, explained later on this page, would typically absorb most of the bullets energy. However, because the bullet is being fired from a closer range and to a more specific area of the polycarbonate the layer will break outward, shattering the brittle glas exterior layer, without stopping the bullets motion(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Senario Two: A bullet fired from the exterior:
In this senario, the exterior layer of brittle glass, which will shatter upon impact, will shatter inwards while spreading the bullets energy, toward the polycarbonate layer where the bullets energy will be absorbed, stopping the bullet from passing into the interior(Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012).
Unfortunately bullet resistance glass tends to be more suceptible to negative environmental impacts, including UV radiaiton, exposure to certain solvents and temperature. Cold temperatures, for example, might result in pits of the polycarbonate layer falling off ("Bullet Resistant Glass.", 2012).
Polycarbonate: Chemical Composition
- polycarbonate is tough, and synthetic
- it is a special type of polyester used as an engineering plastic.
- It is produced by a polymerization reaction between bisphenol A ( a volatile liquid derived from benzene) and phosgene ( a highly reactive and toxic gas made by reaction carbon with chlorine)(Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2012).
- Polymerization, being any process in which relatively small molecules (called monomers) combine chemically to become a network like chain called a polymer.
- The resulting polymer is made up of repeating benzene ring units and connected by ester groups (Carbon monoxide - oxygen) bonds (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2012). .
- it is a special type of polyester used as an engineering plastic.
- It is produced by a polymerization reaction between bisphenol A ( a volatile liquid derived from benzene) and phosgene ( a highly reactive and toxic gas made by reaction carbon with chlorine)(Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2012).
- Polymerization, being any process in which relatively small molecules (called monomers) combine chemically to become a network like chain called a polymer.
- The resulting polymer is made up of repeating benzene ring units and connected by ester groups (Carbon monoxide - oxygen) bonds (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2012). .
Bullet Proof Glass:
There are main types of Bullet proof glass, while both are equally effective, they each have qualitites that make them better suited for different applications.
Acrylic Bullet Proof Glass Acrylic bullet proof glass is the most commonly seen in public buildings, its chemical nature allows for seemless lines, among other advantageous features, such as:
- 93% transparency rate - twice as strong as common glass - High impact resitance - very light - easy to shape (Associated Plastics, 2012) |
Polycarbonate Laminated Bullet Proof Glass This type of bullet proof glass is made by taking 7 to 75 millimeter thick sheets of polycarbonate plastic and layering it inbetween common glass. These layer then go through a lamination process, which is essentially a process that uses heat and pressure to bond the plastic and glass.
This type of bullet proof glass is extremely effective, as it can absorb an incredible amount of force. For this reason polycarbonate is often used in exterior windows, or in places that commonly deal with issues such as forced entry (Total Security Solutions Bulletproof, 2012). Some Key characteristics of polycarbonate are: - Durable - Good impact resistance - Pliable - Demensional stability - 90% transparency rate |
Works Cited
"Bullet Resistant Glass." A - Read. N.p., 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.
"How Is Bulletproof Glass Made?" TSS Bulletproof. Total Security Solutions, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.
"Polycarbonate (PC) (chemical Compound)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.
"What Is Acrylic?" Associated Plastics. Associated Plasitcs and Supply, 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.