The Glass Material Council (GMC) was busy during the 2017 AAMA National Summer Conference last month, going over the development of a procedure pertaining to the edge seal of insulating glass units (IGUs). The council also heard updates from the IGMA Technical Policy Committee and the ASTM E0622 sub-committee. Work on these items and others will continue this October during the 2017 AAMA National Fall Conference in Greenville, SC.

Tool and Procedure for Testing Edge Scalloping Under Development

The joint AAMA/IGMA Edge Pressure Task Group (Chair: Paul Bush [Vitro Architectural Glass]) is working on the development of a standardized procedure to determine the effect of pressure on the edge seal of IGUs and a test to predict when scalloping (uneven squeezing of polyisobutylene (PIB) edge sealant into the vision area) will occur. The group also aims to develop installation considerations and guidelines for achieving water and air tightness while not over-compressing the edge seal.

The task group is currently working on designing a tool for testing of edge pressure. A potential test fixture has been designed and is currently out for fabrication quotations. An additional conference call will be scheduled to evaluate the quotations and then funding will be requested.

The task group also needs to decide what scale of pressure should be used, which represents the greatest cost element for this testing. Input is sought from all sources, including international groups who may have insight. Among the suggestions received was that of 1000 lbs. In addition, other aspects of the procedure need to be determined, including the number of cycles and testing temperatures.

Joint AAMA-IGMA Communications and Education Efforts Near Completion

GMC Marketing Committee Chair, Tim McGlinchy (GED Integrated Solutions), informed members that remaining ballot comments from the IGMA Technical Policy Committee for the AAMA/IGMA “Understanding Glass Standards” web page were resolved during a conference call on April 27. The revised draft is currently being balloted to IGMA Board, and the final ballot (in web layout) will be to the AAMA Marketing Steering Committee. 

The intent is to develop consumer-focused information explaining glass standards, to include laminated, heat strengthened, coated and insulating glass.

Once the web page is approved, it will be posted to both the AAMA and the IGMA websites. AAMA and IGMA staff will aid in selecting images to be utilized in promoting this information on both association websites.

Testing Changes for ASTM Documents

The ASTM E0622 sub-committee is in the process of revising the ASTM E2188, E2189 and E2190 standards and performance criteria for insulating glass units. All three documents were published in 2010 and will go dormant if the update is not completed by year end. Topics being addressed include:

• Changes to the volatile fog test, involving reducing grid material for the test to be closer to that actually used in production; also, manufacturers can use internal dividers with a separate fog test
• Seal durability
• Bulb lighting – creating minima and maxima for UV bulb output in cycling; cost impact would include regular monitoring to check bulb output level during the 63-day continuous cycle