Ever been walking down the street in a major city and suddenly get the eerie feeling that something is not quite right above you? Take a glance skyward. Chances are, some of the buildings around you will be designed with lots and lots of glass. Huge plates of the stuff. Let the imagination wander, and you'll find yourself thinking about what might happen if that glass shattered and started falling, well, all over you. Not pretty. And, in case you wondered, this does happen, maybe more often than you might think. And with large glass facades becoming part and parcel of modern building design, it's becoming even more of a concern to architects, builders and engineers. Just look at this upcoming conference in the Netherlands.
Some German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Silicate Research (yep) want to help by using sensors that can detect micro-fissures in glass panels. The idea is to sound the alarm before the glass is already breaking and falling. Dr. Bernard Brunner of the ISC explains:"Four sensors are situated on a one square meter surface, on the edge of the pane at a distance of one meter from each other. One sensor actuator module produces an ultrasound wave that is registered by the others. If the acoustic signal remains constant, then the pane is not defective. If it changes, then this indicates a fissure caused during transport or due to an installation error. This fissure most often emanates from the edge of the pane and is initially invisible. It is only as time goes by that it gets larger due to various factors, like fluctuations in temperature."
Sensor size? A mere 15mm X 15mm X .5mm.
The information is relayed to the building control systems via cable, and if fluctuations are detected, then an alarm goes off. The technology has uses beyond safety as well. The modules are also equipped to with light and temperature sensors that can instruct the building control system to, for example, lower shades to prevent the building from getting too hot.
The Fraunhofer folks and their industrial partners will have the system on display at the Sensor+Test trade show later this month.
(Photo:© K. Dobberke/Fraunhofer ISC)
Tags: Architecture, Buildings and Structures, Green Tech, Materials Science, Sensors
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