Shattered Glass Facades Pose Grave Threat to High-Rise Residents in Fires
Glass panels in high-rise buildings can break during fires, affecting fire dynamics. This study compared regular and reinforced glass of different thicknesses under heat. The reinforced glass lasted twice as long before breaking due to built-in stress. The stress in regular glass is highest at the edges, while in reinforced glass, it's closer to the heated side, where cracks start. The study used computer models to predict breakage times, with a small margin of error. The findings show that reinforced glass is better at resisting breakage during fires.