We installed some of the heavy glass in a steel wall in the reception area at the foot of the stairs -where we could check visitors before releasing the steel entrance door - and we and the range guns were protected internally by a wire-mesh and sheet steel cage.
Bullet-Resistant Glass is made from laminations of tempered glass and clear thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate. - Generally speaking the outer layers of glass flatten the bullet and the plastic layer then absorbs its energy and stops it. The ability of polycarbonate to slow and stop a projectile is directly dependent on thickness of the laminations - sometimes as much as three and a half inches.
I'm pleased to report that our Bullet-Proof glass was never tested other than by being punched a couple of times (Just checking perhaps?).
Polycarbonate is one of the toughest plastics made - but it is affected by exposure to sun light. -Its performance when used in armoured vehicles deteriorates with time and needs to be replaced at intervals.
More recently - clear ceramics are being used to protect military vehicles. Transparent Armour Gun Shields (TAGS) are used to protect machine-guns mounted on armoured fighting vehicles.
Ceramic Plates for body armour - also known as 'trauma plates' are subject to much ongoing development. - One area of active development is the use of small (overlapping?) component plates as the large monolithic torso plates are subject to cracking.
That stuff works eh!
Marty K
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