1.1This practice describes procedures to determine the load resistance (LR) of specified glass types, including combinations of glass types used in a sealed insulating glass (IG) unit, exposed to a uniform lateral load of short or long duration, for a specified probability of breakage.

1.2This practice applies to vertical and sloped glazing in buildings for which the specified design loads consist of wind load, snow load and self-weight with a total combined magnitude less than or equal to 15 kPa (315 psf). This practice shall not apply to other applications including, but not limited to, balustrades, glass floor panels, aquariums, structural glass members, and glass shelves.

1.3This practice applies only to monolithic and laminated glass constructions of rectangular shape with continuous lateral support along one, two, three, or four edges. This practice assumes that (1) the supported glass edges for two, three, and four-sided support conditions are simply supported and free to slip in plane; (2) glass supported on two sides acts as a simply supported beam; and (3) glass supported on one side acts as a cantilever. For insulating glass units, this practice only applies to insulating glass units with four-sided edge support.

1.4This practice does not apply to any form of wired, patterned, etched, sandblasted, drilled, notched, or grooved glass with surface and edge treatments that alter the glass strength.

1.5This practice addresses only the determination of the resistance of glass to uniform lateral loads. The final thickness and type of glass selected also depends upon a variety of other factors (see 5.3).

1.6Charts in this practice provide a means to determine approximate maximum lateral glass deflection. Appendix X1 provides additional procedures to determine maximum lateral deflection for glass simply supported on four sides.

1.7The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for mathematical conversions to inch-pound units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.

1.8Appendix X2 lists the key variables used in calculating the mandatory type factors in Tables 1-3 and comments on their conservative values.

1.9This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.