Introduction
Storefronts typically are large framed glass areas installed at the ground floor of external façades. Often used as the viewport for goods and services of retail stores, the glazing in storefronts requires high visible light transmittance and may be called upon to help set the mood of the store. As goods are often placed directly behind the glazing, UV filtration to help reduce fading is a critical parameter of the selected glass infill. Noise control from road noise, foot traffic and other activities is also a performance demand for this large front expanse of the store – while maintaining high visibility.
Storefronts may be used on any floor for internal applications and often extend from floor to ceiling. In many cases, glazing for retail and shop environments, especially storefronts, requires security from smash and grab threats.
Which products fit in?
Eastman has experience with multiple interlayer products being used in the design the glazing for storefronts:
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Saflex Clear is the conventional PVB interlayer that can be used for:
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Safety: in case of glass breakage from human or accidental impact, the shards of broken glass will remain adhered to the interlayer providing a reduction in cutting or piercing injuries. With properly glazed laminated glass in a framing system, fall through protection may also be provided.
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Storms: laminated glass with adequate interlayer thickness is capable of thwarting wind-borne debris from penetrating the façade and subsequently allowing destructive internal pressurization in severe windstorms such as tropical cyclones, hurricane. The ability of the interlayer to contain the glass shards after breakage has been demonstrated to contribute to enhanced glass retention during seismic activities as well.
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Security: a laminated glass configuration can be designed to provide a sufficient level of protection against man-made, intentional attacks including vandalism and burglary, explosion resistance and ballistic assault.
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Saflex Acoustic PVB interlayer is an engineered tri-layer interlayer that provides enhanced sound damping between 1000 – 4000 Hertz (Hz) as compared to conventional PVB interlayer. The enhanced performance may allow the glazing construction to be designed using less air space and/or thinner glass to achieve the same sound reduction rating versus conventional and historic practices.
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Saflex Solar is a solar absorbing PVB interlayer that brings improved solar control by reducing solar heat gain versus clear and conventional laminated glass without coatings. Saflex Solar can also be incorporated into single unit laminated glass with low-emissivity hard coatings or into insulating glass units (IGU) with or without low-emissivity glasses. Saflex Solar may be an effective product for reducing solar heat transfer deeper into a building and may aid in the reduction of glare.
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Vanceva® Earth Tones collection and Vanceva Colors interlayers bring forth the possibility of using a large range of color in a façade or as interior glazing. Vanceva color interlayers permit the design of lower transmittance or intense colors without having to increase glass thickness. Since the color is added to the laminate using the Vanceva interlayers, delays waiting for colored glass campaigns or ordering large quantities of custom colored glass can be eliminated. Both products provide the flexibility to customize or modify and improve the aesthetic of the façade.
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Saflex Structural PVB interlayer can be used in laminated glass configurations targeted for floors, stairs, fins, balustrades, guards and canopies.
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Saflex High Protection (HP) and Saflex Storm interlayers can be used when enhanced protection from tropical cyclones and hurricane force winds and wind-borne debris are needed.
The various types of Saflex and Vanceva interlayers mentioned above can be combined between two pieces of glass or in the same glazing configuration to improve the overall performance of the glazing system and contribute to the optimum performance of the storefront application.
