AAMA Group Aims to Join Other Associations to Study Optical Distortion

A new task group met yesterday during the annual conference of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association of Schaumburg, Ill., and proved that sometimes collaboration is key. The Flatness and Aesthetics of Laminated Glass Study Group was formed initially to study the issue of optical distortion in laminated glass.

Dean Ruark, code compliance manager at PGT Industries of North Venice, Fla., and chair of the group, noted that because there is no standard, his company, for one, gets many questions from the field on this issue.

"There needs to be some kind of guidance around the assembly," Ruark said. The group's members talked about the fact that distortion often occurs when "you start stacking multiple layers of glass."

Members also noted this is a problem in both residential and commercial applications.

"We  are now entering the triple-pane market and it's going to get worse," said Bill Deuschle, vice president of external affairs at Traco in Cranberry Township, Pa. "I'm not an expert on glass but somewhere we need to tighten up the tolerances."

"There needs to be some guidance around the assembly," noted another AAMA member.

The group decided that it should collaborate with the Glass Association of North America (GANA) of Topeka, Kan., and the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) of Ottawa, Ontario, on this issue. The group's initial ideas included development of a white paper, educational piece or development of a standard. It noted, however, that GANA does have a white paper on the topic available.

GANA supports continued analysis and measurement of distortion in heat-treated glass, Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell, technical director of GANA, told USGNN.com™ in an interview today. In 2008, the GANA Laminating Division republished its glass informational bulletin (GIB) Design Considerations for Laminated Glazing Applications, which discusses optical distortion and other aspects that design professionals and building owners should be aware of when selecting and specifying laminated glazing constructions.