AGC has announced that it has developed a specialty thin sheet glass for architectural use, by utilizing its technologies cultivated through the development of cover glass for smartphones and tablets.
AGC (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) has developed AFLIC™, a specialty thin sheet glass for architectural use, by utilizing its technologies cultivated through the development of cover glass for smartphones and tablets. This new product has outstanding strength: the strength of 1.3 mm-thick AFLIC is equivalent to that of 3 mm-thick float glass. AFLIC will be used in the new triple-layered glass unit developed for high-performance polymer window ERSTER X, and a high-performance hybrid window SAMOS X, which are scheduled to be released by LIXIL Corporation in January and March 2015, respectively.
To improve the energy-saving performance of residential housing, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan aims that a Net Zero Energy House (ZEH), which creates energy to offset the energy consumed, will be the standard for newly built houses in Japan by the year 2020.
Today, most of the newly built houses in the country are equipped with low-E double glazing units that help reduce the energy consumption from air-conditioning use. In order to achieve the ZEH target, however, more enhanced heat insulating/shielding performance will be necessary.
One of the solutions to achieve a greater performance is use of low-E triple glazing units, but conventional triple-layered glass panes are too heavy in weight to open and close smoothly.
Applied a special chemical treatment, AFLIC achieved the strength equivalent to that of conventional float glass while the thickness is slimmed down to less than half the size. AFLIC will greatly improve the heat insulating/shielding performance of window panes while minimizing the total glass weight.
AGC will continue to help solve environment and energy issues in the world through the development and sales glass products with a low environmental burden.