RADIATION SHIELDING GLAZINGS
This invention relates to radiation shielding glazings, and in particular to radiation shielding glazings with properties of fire resistance.
Radiation shielding materials are well known and are used in many applications to shield personnel from damaging radiation. In particular x-ray shielding glass is known and used to shield x-rays. Applications include viewing windows and insulated glazings for x-ray rooms, screens for medical diagnostics, protection windows in laboratories, lenses for safety goggles and airport security x-ray screens. Radiation shielding material has a particular composition which includes elements which prevent damaging rays from passing through. X-ray shielding glass has a high lead content for this purpose and as such, the density of the glass is much greater than typical soda-lime float glass. One such x-ray shielding glass is readily available from the applicant under the trade mark "Med- X" and has a density of 4.8 g/cm3, whereas the density of soda-lime float glass is typically 2.5 g/cm3. Other x-ray shielding glasses are available with a higher lead content and thus a higher density, up to 5.05 g/cm3.
Currently available x-ray shielding glass is not suitable in certain glazing applications where it may be required to be fire resistant. Fire resistant glazings are those which pass the relevant fire safety tests, e.g. BS476 parts 20-22 (and corresponding European Standard EN1364-1). Glass panes are not highly thermally insulating or fire resistant. When exposed to fire they become very hot and consequently cannot be touched without the risk of severe burning and are susceptible to cracking from thermal shock. Moreover, heat radiation from the glass can itself constitute a further fire hazard.
Layers of material which impart fire resistant properties are often associated with sheets of glazing material to form fire screening glazings. For example such a layer may be sandwiched between two glass plies. Commonly used materials are intumescent materials, epoxy resin materials and hydrogels (also known as aqueous transparent gels)- either organic, inorganic or a mixture of the two - which are used to make translucent glazings. In the case of an intumescent material, it is normally formed mainly from a sodium silicate waterglass or a mixture thereof with a potassium silicate waterglass. If such a laminate is exposed to fire, the combined water in the hydrated sodium silicate layer is driven off, and the layer foams and the material is converted into a porous opaque
mass which is very effective as a thermal barrier. The foam assists in preserving the structural integrity of the laminate for a longer period than conventional interlayers (e.g. PVB), thereby maintaining a barrier to propagation of the fire. The foam is also an insulator which reduces the amount of heat transmitted through the glazing and thereby inhibits the ignition of flammable material on the non-fire side of the glass.
Currently available x-ray radiation shielding glass sheets are available in thickness up to 16 mm and may be laminated, usually with PVB. These glazings do not pass the relevant fire safety tests.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a glazing with properties of x- ray shielding and fire resistance.
According to the invention there is provided a radiation shielding glazing comprising at least one layer of material which imparts fire resistance sandwiched between a glass ply and a ply of x-ray shielding material. The present invention is surprising because as the interlayer which imparts fire resistance heats up, it was thought that the additional weight of the x-ray shielding material would cause it to detach from the interlayer, thereby adversely affecting the structural integrity of the glazing causing it to fail fire safety tests. However, this is not the case with the present invention.
Preferably the material which imparts fire resistance is comprised of intumescent material or an epoxy resin material or a hydrogel.
Preferably the radiation shielding material is comprised of x-ray shielding glass.
The glazing may additionally include at least one infra red reflecting layer. This reduces the amount of heat transmitted through the glazing. Preferably the infra red reflecting layer is a metallic coating provided on a glass surface.
The glass ply of the glazing may comprise soda-lime float glass or alternatively x- ray shielding glass.
A soda-lime float glass ply may be applied to the exposed face of the x-ray shielding glass. This is particularly advantageous where the glazing is to be used in a humid environment because x-ray shielding glass is susceptible to staining by acids and alkalis due to its high lead content.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a fire resistant glazing according to an embodiment of the invention.
In Figure 1 a fire resistant x-ray shielding glazing 10 comprises an intumescent layer 12 sandwiched between a ply of soda-lime float glass 14 and a ply of Med-X x-ray shielding glass 16. The glazing is constructed by pouring a waterglass solution onto the surface of the soda-lime float glass ply sheet of dimensions 1880mm x 880mm x 2.6mm thick, subsequently evaporating water from the solution, in such a manner that a clear interlayer is formed. In order to produce an intumescent layer of the desired thickness upon the glass, it is necessary to provide an edge barrier on the glass which will retain the waterglass solution during the evaporation step. The edge barrier may be produced from a mixture of glass powder, water and methyl cellulose using the compositions and techniques described in European Patent Application 705686. The evaporation of water from the waterglass solution is preferably carried out by drying it in an oven at a temperature of from 70 to 110°C for a period of from 12 to 24 hours.
When the evaporation is complete, the composite sheet may be removed from the oven and the retaining edge barrier removed by cutting the edges from the sheet. The resulting product is a glass sheet having an intumescent layer upon one surface thereof. The thickness of the dried interlayer may vary through a wide range say from 0.3 to 5.0 mm. Generally thicknesses of from 0.5 to 2.5 mm are preferred. In this particular example the thickness is 1.4mm.
A 7.5 mm thick ply of Med-X x-ray shielding glass of similar dimensions to the soda-lime float glass ply is bonded to the dried interlayer to produce a simple laminate. A wetting solution is applied to the surface of the dried interlayer, and a 7.5 mm thick ply of Med-X x-ray shielding glass of similar dimensions to the soda-lime float glass ply, is placed on top of the interlayer. The composite is then passed through a mangle-like set of rollers and then placed in an oven for a pre-determined time interval at a temperature less than 100°C to form a laminate as shown in Figure 1, of thickness 11.5mm.
Two such laminates were constructed and fire tested in accordance with BS476 parts 20-22 (and corresponding European Standard EN1364-1), the first sample with the Med-X x-ray shielding glass on the side of the fire, the second sample with the soda-lime float glass on the side of the fire. It was thought that as the interlayer heats up during the fire test, it would soften and the additional weight of the of the Med-X glass would cause
it to peel away from the interlayer, thereby adversely affecting the structural integrity of the glazing causing it to fail the fire safety test. However, this was not the case and each sample was successfully tested to 30 minutes integrity (E30) with sample 1 failing after 39 minutes and sample 2 failing after 54 minutes.
It will be appreciated that in the above example the glazing includes a ply of soda- lime float glass but this is not essential. The ply may alternatively be composed of other glass compositions, in particular those having a higher strain temperature as these will increase the fire resistance of the laminate.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one ply of the glazing bears an infra-red reflecting layer which reduces the amount of heat transmitted through the glazing. Preferably the coating is applied to the non exposed glass faces of the glazing. Commonly used infra-red reflecting layers may be used, such as a thin metallic oxide coating.
It will be appreciated that the provision of multiple intumescent interlayers will enhance the fire resistance properties of the glazing.
It will also be appreciated that a radiation shielding glass ply may replace the soda-lime float glass ply, thereby enhancing the radiation shielding properties of the glazing. Alternatively, the glazing may include at least one additional ply of radiation shielding glass.
X-ray shielding glass is susceptible to staining by acids and alkalis because of its high lead content and so when it is to be used in humid environments, it may be advantageous to additionally laminate to a glazing of the invention a soda-lime float glass ply to the exposed face of the x-ray shielding glass with a conventional interlayer, such as PVB, or an intumescent layer which would further enhance the fire resistance properties of the glazing.