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DUPONT SENTRYGLAS USED FOR WORLD'S LARGEST SELF-SUPPORTING STAIRCASE IN LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS
What impressed the adjudicators was not only the significant length of the sidewalls of the staircase, at 8.5 meters they are a good 2.5 meters longer than existing staircases of this type, but also the first-time use of a non-positive-fit connection between the steps and the sidewalls, thus waiving the need for the boreholes and bolts normally used for conventional positive-fit, bolt-fixed connections. This pioneering development was made possible by the application of DuPont SentryGlas Plus high-strength laminated glass interlayers, which were used both for the manufacture of the glass steps and sidewalls and for the laminated-on stainless steel mountings. Seele developed this award-winning all-glass staircase in collaboration with the Institute of Building Design and the Institute of Supporting Structures and Structural Design of the University of Stuttgart. Ingo Stelzer, Head of Glass Production and Composites Development at Seele, says: “By developing our self-supporting staircase of laminated glass, we just wanted to show what is technically possible today. Our ability to incorporate highly transparent DuPont SentryGlas Plus interlayers in all of the structurally important connections, allowed us to reduce the connecting elements to an absolute minimum and hence achieve a maximum impression of lightness. Thanks to the high strength and stiffness of SentryGlas Plus and our newly-developed laminating technique, relatively small surfaces reliably transmit the load from the steps to the sidewalls. This innovation would not have been possible with conventional laminating interlayers.” The sidewalls of the staircase each consist of three 15 mm thick layers of float glass, ‘Optiwhite’ from Pilkington, with 1.52 mm thick DuPont SentryGlas Plus high-performance interlayers. This combination provides the advantage of extra high clarity due to the advanced transparencies of both SentryGlas Plus and low iron or ‘OptiWhite’ type glasses. The 1,400 mm wide and 300 mm deep steps each comprise four layers of float glass of the same kind, likewise laminated with SentryGlas Plus interlayers to ensure particularly high flexural stiffness. The stainless steel mountings on the sidewalls, four per step, are each connected to the top layer of glass by a laminating sheet measuring only approx. 40 mm x 100 mm. The counterpieces, which engage with the aforementioned mountings, are laminated directly into one of the step interlayers. Ingo Stelzer continues: “The staircase was structurally designed on the basis of a dead load of around 60 kg and an additional load of three people per step, in other words, a total load of approximately 300 kg that had to be non-positively transmitted via the four laminated-on mountings to the side walls. The SentryGlas Plus interlayers provide such excellent structural performance that the four contact surfaces offer high safety reserves in spite of their small dimensions. At Stuttgart University's institutes IBK and ITKE we were able to prove this under static and dynamic load conditions, and also the excellent ageing resistance of the connections, even when exposed to moisture, increased temperature and UV light over a long term.” Ingo Stelzer points out some more advantages of the non positive fixing solution using SentryGlas Plus: “Unlike point fixings, which manifest extremely high stress concentrations at the location where the loads are transmitted, these laminated mountings permit the use of non-toughened glass, creating much more flexibility in our choice of possible materials. Additionally I would like to highlight the advantage that the entire laminating process, including the laminating of the mountings onto and into the respective staircase elements, can take place in one single autoclave cycle. Based on that we can waive the time-consuming assembly work that conventional bolted mountings normally entail.” As a company specializing in customized structures of steel, aluminium and glass, Seele GmbH & Co. KG can handle all the individual steps of a project including design development, production and final installation. Its ultramodern machines and equipment include for the manufacture of laminated glass in order to realize even the most unusual architectural designs. The autoclaves used for laminating the sidewalls of the award-winning staircase, for example, can accommodate plate glass up to a size of 12.5 m x 2.8 m. Traditionally the stainless steel mountings are manufactured by Seele on its own workshop. Initiated by the architectural magazines ‘AIT’ and ‘XIA intelligente architektur’ in association with Messe Düsseldorf, the ‘Innovation Award Architecture and Glass’, had its première at Glasstec 2006. This competition invites manufacturers to submit glass-based products that meet high demands in terms of function and design. Out of more than thirty entries, the adjudicators chose three main winners, one of which was the all-glass staircase from Seele. DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions provides materials, services and innovations for a better, safer world. The business operates within the DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers strategic business unit, part of DuPont’s US$ 5.3 billion Performance Materials growth platform. DuPontis a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
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