Special show: glass technology live

Top innovations from AGC at glasstec special show

The special “glass technology live” show has been one of the most popular attractions at glasstec for many years and is considered a trend-setter for the glass industry. In line with glasstec’s slogan “intelligent glass”, AGC presented innovative product developments such as the chemically strengthened glass products “Dragontrail X” and “Leoflex”, screen-printed “Clearvision” glass louvres and laminated glass with organic solar films providing significant energy harvesting to reduce a building’s carbon footprint.

The special show presented glass innovations using mock-ups. One highlight was thin-glass technologies: the AGC group presented two applications that combine innovative technology and attractive design. A combination of very high strength and durability is provided by Dragontrail X, a chemically strengthened glass that was used in the glass roofs for the players' benches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Originally developed as a special scratch-resistant glass for smartphone displays, it is now usable in large sizes and therefore ideal for completely new applications. Dragontrail X is eight times stronger than typical soda-lime glass even though it is very thin and light. Another AGC thin glass innovation is Leoflex. The lower edge of this flexible glass, which is just 0.56 mm thick, can be curved to a radius of less than 3.2 centimetres, allowing the glass to stand on its own. At a wind speed of eight metres per second the edge of the glass can move more than five centimetres.

An innovation in terms of energy balance was presented by AGC through an exhibit showing a facade cut-out using Clearvision glass louvres. These are laminated glass slats that are screen-printed with white stripes. Used as the outer skin of the newly built AGC Glass Building, the glass louvres are automatically angled perpendicular to the sun’s rays to keep out direct sunlight while letting in a maximum amount of natural light. This unique system was designed by the architect and engineer Philippe Samyn and developed in collaboration with the AGC Technovation Centre.

In the building-integrated photovoltaics segment, AGC presented a solar-active laminated glass developed jointly with Heliatek. “HeliaFilm” is an ultrathin organic solar film. By embedding this film into laminated glass, complete facades and spandrels of buildings can be converted into efficient solar collectors. This improves the CO2 balance and at the same time provides a pleasant appearance. The product achieves an especially high efficiency because the sun's energy is turned into electricity for long periods of the day. Electricity is generated even when receiving only diffuse or indirect sunlight. In addition, the product offers stable performance at temperatures of up to 80 °C.

For more information and photos, please visit: www.yourglass.com.

Dragontrail X contact: Hiroyuki Wakasugi

hiroyuki-wakasugi@agc.com

Leoflex contact: Laurent Teper

laurent-teper@agc.com

Clearvision glass louvres contact: Bhadresh Parbhoo

bhadresh.parbhoo@eu.agc.com

BIPV contact: Frédéric Bonnefoy

frederic.bonnefoy@eu.agc.com

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