Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Protection of Bullet Proof Glass

Government buildings, embassies, VIP residences as well as armored cars in Kenya use bulletproof glass manufactured at Impala Glass Industries, Kenya. This kind of glass is made from several layers of glass of various thickness and bonded together with tough polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers.

Also known as ballistic glass, transparent armor, or bullet-resistant glass, it has the appearance and clarity of standard glass. However, it is fashioned from tough optically transparent material that is particularly resistant to being penetrated when struck. The weight of the bullet resistant glass is lesser than that of laminated glass yet its level of protection is enhanced. The thickness of bullet-resistant glass can range from between 7 millimeters and 75 millimeters and the ability of the polycarbonate layer to stop projectiles is directly proportional to its thickness.

On attack the front layers of glass bear the brunt of the force and absorb the initial impact energy and shatter. However, subsequent glass layers and the layered polycarbonate-glass material absorb the lower level shock waves and stops the bullet before it exits the final layer.

Log onto impala.co.ke to view Impala Glass Industries’ complete range of automotive and architectural glass.

Impala’s Toughened Glass-For A Life which is Safer

Being in the glass industry for the last 80 years has made us want to tell the world about the most important feature of glass being its safety. Glass, which is susceptible to break easily, becomes safe when it is treated to make it less likely to break, or be less injurious if broken.

Impala Glass Industries, Kenya, manufactures two kinds of safety glass which include toughened glass and laminated glass.

Manufacturing Toughened Glass:

Toughened Glass, also referred to as tempered glass, is thermally or chemically treated to increase its tensile strength compared to ordinary glass. At Impala Glass, normal glass is heated beyond its annealing point of 600°C (1112°F) to remove any stresses from the glass that it underwent when it was being manufactured. Once heated, the glass is rapidly and artificially cooled. This serves to solidify the outside while leaving the interior molten.

Layers are created instead of a solid sheet of glass. The temperature at which the glass is heated beyond the annealing point determines the strength of the resulting product. The strength of toughened glass is twice to six times as much as normal glass.

Uses of Toughened Glass:

Toughened glass is used in automobile windscreens, tables, display cases, as a component of bullet-proof glass, and various types of cookware. Toughened glass is also incorporated by interior designers and architects in interior doors, side panels and shower doors. This is because these require thermal resistance, strength, and safety which is provided by toughened glass.

To view our range of safety glass, simply log onto www.impala.co.ke and allow us to open up the world of safe glass to you

Why are Laminated Glass Doors safer?

Glass doors are iconic in lending a classy and sophisticated air to your home or office. Yet, one of the main reasons they are preferred by architects and interior designers alike is their unbeatable quality of safety.


Doors are that part of an interior which are subjected to the most touch and impact. May it be swing doors leading to offices and rooms or glass sliding doors in commercial centers to glass shower doors in homes—the need is aluminum framed glass doors with extraordinary resilience like the ones manufactured at the state-of-the-art Impala Glass Industries. These laminated glass doors are ideal for office partitions.

Ordinary glass is brittle and upon impact can break into long shards. This fallen, scattered glass can cause serious and fatal injuries. The purpose of using laminated safety glass in doors is to keep the glass fragments bonded to the laminated film upon impact. The inter layers absorb the energy of the impact, resisting penetration. Building codes around the world have endorsed the use of laminated glass in doors and windows because of their safety.

The safety feature of laminated glass manufactured at Impala Glass Industries, Kenya is the reason why laminated glass is used in automobile windows and windshields. For all your architectural glass needs, visit our website impala.co.ke and view our range of laminated glass shower doors, swing doors and sliding doors.