Glossary – our knowledge from A to Z

The aim of this is to reduce primary and secondary radar signals reflected from buildings. The specifications for radar signal attenuation on buildings are stipulated by Deutsche Flugsicherung (German Air Traffic Control).

Sheet glass that absorbs or reflects certain wavelengths of the solar spectrum.

With a 70 % lead content, this type of glass offers optimum protection against x-rays for personnel in hospitals and industry, and is mainly used within buildings where dry, heated air is the norm. However, it can be made up into an insulating glass unit for use in external walls.

A rail is a horizontal component. As part of a post-and-rail façade it carries the weight of the panes of glass. To do this, supports, usually steel flats, are fixed to the rails. The rails also help to carry the wind loads acting on the glazing.

Oscillations that can occur in exposed tensioned cables.

Generally vertical, external pipes for draining rainwater from roof surfaces, balconies and loggias.

The standardisation system of the RAL institute. RAL numbers were introduced in order to bring together various shades of colour in one standard. Every shade has been allocated a four-digit number and the standard is based on a table with 40 shades. The advantage of this standard is that it simplifies communication between customers and suppliers.

A method for producing a workpiece (moulded part) directly from a 3D model without long fabrication times. The workpiece is built up layer by layer until the final form is achieved. Different properties may be required depending on the particular process.

The following principal raw materials are required for the production of soda-lime-silica glass, which accounts for approx. 90% of the glass produced today: silicon dioxide (SiO2, quartz sand), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3, soda), calcium oxide (CaO, quicklime).

This is the part of the frame that houses the edge of the glass.

This is the area between the inner and outer seals in a glazing unit. seele develops rebate drainage and ventilation systems specific to each project in order to guarantee the sealing function and good durability.

An obstructed flow of air must be guaranteed in the rebate for glass in order to prevent condensation in the edge cover area.

The total of the dimensions for the thickness of the glass pane and the sealing material in front of and behind this.

A shoot bolt is a self-locking device for double doors. It is also permitted on fire and smoke doors. When the bolt is released, a spring is tensioned which is then released by an auxiliary bolt upon closing the door and operates the shoot bolt at top and bottom to lock the door again.

This process is used when a microstructure distorted by cold-forming is to be returned to its undistorted state. Several hours of annealing at 550–650°C results in a completely new microstructure.

In a redundant structure one element can take on the function of another that has failed.

The REFA-Verband für Arbeitsgestaltung, Betriebsorganisation und Unternehmensentwicklung e.V. is the oldest body responsible for work design, industrial organisation, company development and further education.

This is a suitable surface on a structure that is set up in order to specify a binding standard of execution for the coating works and to verify that the stipulations of a manufacturer or contractor are correct for assessing the behaviour of the coating at any time.

This describes the quantity of radiation that is returned after striking the surface of the glass.

A metallic coating applied to one side of a pane of glass.

A light beam is refracted as it passes from air into glass. The angle between a vertical line and the incident light beam is known as the angle of incidence. The angle between a vertical line and the refracted light beam is known as the angle of refraction.

This is the generic term for ceramic materials with a high melting, or rather softening, point, high thermal shock resistance and good chemical resistance.

Rehabilitation returns a building to a usable condition. In doing so, the function of the building is usually changed.

A composite material made of concrete and steel reinforcement. The composite action is achieved through the bond between the binder (cement) and the ribs on the steel reinforcement.

Reinforcing elements embedded in the interlayer of laminated safety glass (also laminated safety glass made from toughened safety glass) guarantees a high residual loadbearing capacity, even with high component temperatures. The following reinforcing elements are conceivable: steel wires and meshes, perforated plates, etc. Reinforced laminated glass is currently still at the development stage.

This is the strengthening of an object by another object that has a higher tensile or compressive strength or a greater durability with respect to other outside influences, e.g. water, frost, chemical substances, etc.

This type of steel in the form of bars or meshes is cast into concrete to form reinforced concrete.

This is the capacity of a material to dissipate the stress at a constant strain.

Such a fitting ensures that the preload in a fastener is essentially retained over the lifetime of the connection. The fastener cannot become loose at all. Serrated washers represent one method.

This is a term taken from viscoelasticity theory for describing the viscoelastic material behaviour of, for example, glass at the glass transition.

This is access to systems for maintenance and repair purposes by technical personnel from a remote location.

This is energy obtained from a source that either renews itself over the short-term or the use of which does not result in depletion of the source. Renewable energies include water power, solar radiation, geothermal energy and the tides.

The property of a glass element to be able to carry certain loads even after breakage. Residual loadbearing capacity is an important factor in the design of glazing for constant foot traffic, glazed safety barriers and overhead glazing. Various regulations regarding length of time and magnitude of loads must be complied with depending on the particular situation.

The property of a glass element to be able to remain in position and not fall for a defined length of time after breakage – provided no further loads are applied.

A term used in the formatting of graphics. It is the number of dots per inch (dpi) with which an image can be presented.

A restrained support fixes a building component in position. Such a component cannot be displaced either vertically or tangentially. A restrained support resists normal (axial) and tangential forces.

Reticulated glass is a type of glass made from net-like glass threads.

This is the vertical surface of a wall at the side of a door or window opening.

A door consisting of three or four leaves rotating about a common axis in the centre of a circular enclosure with openings on the inside and outside.

A ribbon façade is essentially characterised by rows of continuous windows between continuous plain spandrel panels.

The ribbon size is the width of the band of glass without trimming. The standard ribbon size is 3.21 m. The limitations of production mean that wider glass formats are only available to special order. The standard lengths are currently 6.0 and 7.2 m, occasionally 9.0 m.

An uninterrupted row of windows. See: ribbon façade.

The ridge is the horizontal intersection of two roof surfaces that slope downwards from this line.

A foamed plastic (polystyrene, phenolic resin, polyurethane) that is used as a thermal insulation material. Rigid foam boards are preferably used together with floating screeds in order to improve the impact sound insulation and for the thermal insulation in external wall thermal insulation systems.

A type of point fixing in which the pane of glass is held rigidly. The fixing moment acting on the pane of glass must be taken into account in the design. Rigid glass fixings represent a disadvantageous form of support for large-format panes.

The vertical dimension between the eaves and the ridge of a roof or roof surface.

A plastically deformable, solid cylindrical fastener. Cold riveting is the formation of a shear connection between two components. In hot riveting the connection is almost exclusively in the form of a tension connection. Rivets are used mainly for connecting sheet metal components.

A hardness testing method developed in 1920 and named after the American engineer Stanley Rockwell. The Rockwell hardness of the material depends on the indentation depth of a test body (hard steel ball or diamond cone) pressed against it with a certain initial and testing force. The indentation body is pressed into the specimen in two stages and the Rockwell hardness is derived from the additional depth of indentation.

A cylindrical or shaped body used as a forming tool for metals. We distinguish between work and back-up rolls.

Rolled glass is generally produced on a production line by way of casting and rolling. It can be manufactured with and without a wire mesh inlay, in clear and coloured versions, and with a patterned surface on one or both sides. This type of glass is light-permeable and transparent and the view through can be affected. It can scatter or redirect the light depending on the pattern. Also known as cast glass.

This is a machinery component that transfers a load between two contrarotating surfaces with minimal friction. Two contrarotating components, the inner and outer races, are kept a certain distance apart by rollers.

These are corrugation-type distortions on the surface of thermally toughened glasses. They are caused by the rollers on which the hot glass rests during the toughening process. The waviness is due to the production process and depends on the thickness of the glass and the manufacturer’s technical equipment. DIN EN 12150 specifies the permissible local waviness.

The roof covering is laid over the roof structure and forms the outer termination of the roof construction. Some forms of roof covering, e.g. clay tiles, are rainproof, but not waterproof.

Usually specified in degrees, occasionally as a percentage. The roof pitch designates the fall (the steepness) of a roof surface.

The loadbearing part of the roof construction.

The loadbearing part(s) of a roof construction. In a timber roof this is the entire construction responsible for supporting the rafters.

This is the upper layer or layers of a roof that provides a weatherproof surface. The roof covering is laid over the roof structure and forms the outer termination of the roof construction.

This is a form of rolled glass. In the past this was a preliminary stage in the manufacture of polished plate glass.

German abbreviation for frame-mounted door closer (Rahmentürschließer).

Rust is the colloquial name for the corrosion of iron or steel caused by the metal’s oxidation in the presence of water. Rust is porous and does not protect against further decomposition. Iron-based materials exposed to the weather cause damage that runs into billions every year.