Automotive Glass

[maomech]

Hi,
is there anybody that can help me with the typical automotive glass composition, and maybe some phisical characteristics such as light absorbtion, etc.
Cheers.

 

[Chatterjee]

Dear Maomech,
It is not very clear what you are really asking for. How ever your query can be answered to a certain extent.
Automotive glass has two objects linked to it. (a)The wind sheild (b)the head lights. The wind sheild is made from float glass(flat sheet glass drawn by float glass technology). The flat glass is cut into shape and then in a tempering lehr the profile is moulded on to the mold by heat. Clarity is the important parameter and second to it is that the wind sheild having a profile of being a part of a curvature shouldn't act like a lens.Tempering the windsheild makes it prone to being shattered into pieces on impact .hence a layer of butyl acetate is sndwiched in between two glass sheet and held at certain temperature so that the body becomes one .On impact the glass shards doesn't fall off.
The head lights are made up of thick clear glasses having a curved profile so that it can act like a lens and deliver the light beam in a sort of cone.
Hope that is satisfactory enough
Chatterjee

 

[glman]

The windshield is untempered sodalime silicate glass slumped to shape with a polymer layer between two sheets to keep it from falling apart.

The Side windows are Tempered sodalime silicate which will shatter into small "safe" pieces on impact.

The headlights have been going to plastics, but at one time were a borosilicate glass.