Glossary – our knowledge from A to Z

Perhaps the most common section used in structural steelwork. The designation stems from the cross-sectional form of this rolled section. The central part is the web, which joins together the two, usually thicker, flanges.

A hot-rolled steel section with narrower flanges than an H-section.

This type of glass is made from sheet glass that is first sandblasted and then coated with hot bone glue. As it dries, the glue contracts and tears irregular fragments out of the glass surface to produce the irregular “frost” look.

An insulating material used to attenuate the noise of footsteps. In Germany impact sound insulation requirements are regulated by DIN 4109 “Sound insulation in buildings”.

The varying or movable effects acting on building components, e.g. due to persons, furnishings and fittings, stored materials, machines or vehicles. The intensity of the imposed load has a stochastic character.

Impregnation is carried out with substances that do not a form a surface film but instead infiltrate the pores of a material without, however, closing these completely. The diffusion of water vapour must remain guaranteed. Stone and concrete surfaces represent typical applications.

This is a trade name for a screw with a hexagon socket head. The tool used for this screw is the well-known Allen or hex key.

Abbreviation for International Commercial Terms. These terms of business are a series of voluntary rules for the drafting of customary contract clauses in international trade. First and foremost, Incoterms are intended to regulate the supply of goods. The provisions specify which transport costs are to be borne by the buyer or seller and who bears the risks.

The melting of decoration or relief into a piece of glass.

This is a chemical compound of indium and oxygen. Indium oxide is mixed with the glass during production in order to give it a yellow to amber-orange colouring.

An Individual Approval (ZiE, Zulassung im Einzelfall) is required in Germany when a component (e.g. a glass safety barrier) does not have a National Technical Approval (abZ, allgemeine bauaufsichtliche Zulassung). An Individual Approval is normally obtained by carrying out tests that are supervised by an independent body.

Infill elements are generally the panels filling the spaces between the posts and rails of a post-and-rail façade. Windows, fixed glazing or insulating panels are employed as infill elements, which are mostly attached on site.

Non-coloured glasses have a high light transmittance in the wavelength range 780–2800 nm (decreasing from 780 to 2800 nm). Soda-lime-silica glasses exhibit an absorption band at 2.85 m.

A discontinuous forming method in which the molten material is poured batch-wise into moulds where it then solidifies.

A substance used to reduce the effectiveness of chemical or physical processes, e.g. rust inhibitor, bacteria inhibitor, fire inhibitor.

This is a barrier against persons, animals or foreign bodies. An insect screen normally has a peripheral frame. Metal is the material most often used for the screen, but wood, stone or plastic screens are also possible.

An ITP includes all the tests and inspections necessary for fabrication or assembly processes. The tests etc. are specified in standards, customer specifications or internal seele standards.

In this document the manufacturer confirms the results of tests on the basis of non-specific tests.

Insulating glass is an assembly of two or three panes of glass that are kept a certain distance apart by using metal or plastic frames. At the edges the panes are interconnected by gastight inner and outer seals. The thermal insulation and hence the U-value of the glass (Ug-value) are much better than a single pane of glass.

A type of insulating glass with integral mechanical fixings which gives a façade a good appearance, as though the glazing had been fixed with adhesive.

A material with a low thermal conductivity or soundproofing properties which is used in the building industry (sound insulation, thermal insulation).

Available in various forms for attaching different types of insulating materials, also those used as a background for plaster or render (e.g. external thermal insulation composite systems), to concrete, stone, solid or perforated bricks and aerated concrete. In Germany no approval is required for such fixings up to a building height of 8 m (DIN 1102).

A sunshade fitted in the cavity of an insulating glass unit. Horizontal louvres are the most popular form. The advantage of a sunshade in the cavity is that it does not require any cleaning. The disadvantage is the difficult maintenance should any be required.

This type of façade acts as a heat or cold sink. Hot or cold water flows through the façade sections.

These drawings are used to demarcate the products and services of one supplier from those of another, e.g. a previous trade. Interface drawings are particularly important in the initial quotation phase in order to illustrate the products and services on offer. As a rule, each relevant area is marked in a different colour.

Metal coatings based on silver, e.g. for low E glasses.

Due to the optimum surface parallelism of float glass panes, optical phenomena can occur under certain lighting conditions due to physical properties. These manifest themselves in the form of rainbow-like blemishes, lines and rings which change their position when pressure is applied to the pane.

In laminated glass this is the material that bonds the glass together permanently. PVB is used for laminated safety glass, casting resin for ordinary laminated glass.

This is an electronically operated system for the protection of persons and property. Intruder alarm systems can notify the police or security services automatically in the case of intruders being detected.

A ball-drop test is used for classifying the penetration resistance of laminated safety glasses in the case of thrown objects. This test provides the chance of designing glass combinations that can achieve a high resistance to attacks with simple, blunt tools.

Class that must be assigned to a façade or door if it is to prevent unauthorised access. The classes range from WK1 (lowest) to WK6 (highest). The higher the class, the more involved is the design.

This coating foams up when exposed to high temperatures and thus insulates an object requiring fire protection against the effects of flames and heat.

This method is used to produce cast parts with maximum dimensional accuracy and the best surface finish. The advantage of the method is that the cast parts are generally ready to install or need only very little further machining. This method is particularly beneficial for complicated components.

Former designation for a German wide-flange I-beam with parallel flanges.

Designation for a German I-beam with parallel flanges of medium width.

The appearance of rainbow colours on the surface of glass (sometimes caused by partial corrosion of the surface). The effect can also be generated artificially by applying a coating.

This is a transparent, colourless or coloured, shimmering glass.

Iron is a chemical element in the periodic table of elements with the symbol Fe (Latin: ferrum) and atomic number 26. Colloquially, the material cast iron is often referred to as iron, whereas the material steel is not thought of as iron at all, even though iron is the main constituent of steel. Iron tends to corrode in the presence of damp air, water and damp soil. See: rust.

A chemical compound of iron and oxygen, one of the oxides of iron. This oxide normally has a non-stoichiometric structure, the composition of which is approximately Fe0.84O to Fe0.95O.

A mixture of chemical compounds of iron and non-ferrous rocks (the so-called matrix). The chemical compounds of iron in iron ore are essentially iron oxides, i.e. compounds of iron and oxygen, or iron carbonates.

Iron forms bivalent and trivalent iron oxide in the presence of oxygen. Iron oxide is mixed with the glass during production to give it a blue-green or yellow colouring, depending on the valency.

This diagram is the basis for understanding the microstructures present at certain temperatures – or rather the microstructure changes that occur upon gradual heating or cooling – in steels and cast iron materials.

An isolated fragment of glass within a broken pane, i.e. no part of the fragment is adjacent to an edge. This effect often occurs with heat-strengthened glass.

The International Organisation for Standardisation is a network of national standards institutes which prepares international standards.

Abbreviation for International Organisation for Standardisation. ISO standards are intended to simplify collaboration in scientific, technical and industrial fields. The abbreviation ISO is the same in every country, in every language. ISO standards are published in English and French.

The international environmental management standard ISO 14001 stipulates requirements to be satisfied by an environmental management system which are acknowledged worldwide.

The quality management standard ISO 9001 is an international standard that formulates minimum stipulations that must be satisfied by the management of a company in order to attain a certain standard in the implementation of its quality management system. ISO 9001 can be used to verify a certain standard of quality with respect to third parties.

This indicates whether a company has introduced a quality management system that has been certified by an independent body. ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are well-known certification systems. ISO accreditation is often a prerequisite for submitting bids for public-sector projects.

This is a joint with a nominal thickness of zero between structures, individual parts of a building or individual phases of a construction project.

Isotherms are lines connecting points with the same temperature. They are used in the graphic evaluation of temperature studies in building physics, to establish whether the chosen form of construction satisfies the building physics requirements. Isotherms are usually calculated with the help of special software.

Information technology – a collective term for the acquisition and processing of data by computer.

Abbreviation for information technology. The IT department is responsible for providing and maintaining (system administration/supervision) the necessary computer infrastructure (hardware, software, network).