Residual stress distribution in tempered glass with reground edges

Abstract

Many glass applications require laminated glass to achieve a safe load-bearing behaviour. Beside the structural aspect, glass elements have to meet high aesthetic demands. Laminated glasses often feature an offset between the individual glass panes resulting from the lamination process. With regards to visible or exposed edges, this displacement reduces the aesthetic quality of the glass component. The regrinding of the edge after lamination equalises the offset and thus creates a smooth surface. However, regrinding tempered glass leads to a reduction of the surface compression zone at the edge and may decrease the load-bearing capacity. A research project focuses on the detailed evaluation of the effect of regrinding tempered glass. To attain a precise understanding, three different aspects have to be examined: first the maximum required grinding depth resulting from the edge offset, second the defects on the surface of the edge and third the residual stress distribution. The third part was examined by means of stress measurements at the edge and the surface of different specimens. Glass beams made of fully tempered glass and heat strengthened glass with three different thicknesses (6, 8 and 10 mm) were ground after the tempering process. The regrinding depth was 1, 2 and 3 mm. One group of specimens remain untreated as a reference. The depth of the compression zone and the magnitude of the surface stress at the edge were measured with the help of photoelastic measurements. The experimental approach and the results are the content of this paper. It enables a statement about transformations of the residual stress state at the edge owing to regrinding tempered glass.