Category: Polycarbonate Panels

It doesn’t matter whether you call it a storm door or commercial glazing systems, the aim is the same: to keep comfort and security inside, and to keep the rough elements of outside. When polycarbonate is used for this purpose, its innate strength, resilience, and thermal insulation benefit both residential and commercial properties. Gone are the days when only glass was considered for glazing purposes. No longer are architects restricted by the limitations of glass, which includes noticeable limitations in its performance. As time, technology, and energy concerns have become more mainstream, the possibilities offered by plastic glazing have replaced glass as the preferred material to use. And why not? Polycarbonate has greater impact resistance and is more flexible than glass, while offering the daylighting features that once made glass the most popular glazing material of its time. But this is a new era in building materials and a new frontier in commercial glazing systems, and we’re going to tell you more about the wonders of polycarbonate.

The Advantages Of Using Polycarbonate In Commercial Glazing Systems

Numbers tell the tale of why polycarbonate has swiftly replaced glass as the glazing choice for architects who design buildings, the construction crews who build them, and the consumer who occupies the structure. Vastly superior in impact and shatter resistance, when polycarbonate is included as part of commercial glazing systems, it offers more than one hundred times the strength of glass. It’s also light in weight, which means that it’s easy to work with, and that’s always a popular feature for construction crews. The layer of UV protection applied to the side of the plastic glazing provides protection from the sun’s rays, increasing the life span of the polycarbonate sheet.

Using Polycarbonate In Plastic Glazing

Did you know that glazing is more than just exterior facing windows? Polycarbonate shows up in a variety of other applications, both indoors and outdoors. Some of the most familiar examples of indoor glazing include cladding, furniture, mirrors, partitions, balustrades, glass floors, and acoustic glass.

Outdoor polycarbonate commercial glazing systems are equally familiar. You’ve seen this plastic sheeting used in solar panels; you might even have noticed it in atriums. In today’s sometimes unpredictably violent world, the strength of polycarbonate is a safety feature commonly used in drive-through windows at fast-food eateries and banks. Polycarbonate is also valued for its protection against nature, when double- or triple-glazed windows, also known as storm windows, are a barrier against the impact of powerful storms and hurricanes.

Daylighting As Part Of Plastic Glazing

We look out of windows and we see the world outside. But with polycarbonate plastic glazing, we can bring the outside into our interior spaces while, at the same time, relishing the other attributes of this versatile building material. It’s strong enough to stop bullets, yet it’s able to let natural light inside so that we benefit from the positive effects of sunlight

Polycarbonate is such an adaptable building material that it’s virtually transformed the industry. When commercial glazing systems are this easy to use, the buildings themselves are transformed. Danpal’s commercial glazing systems not only offer the obvious advantages of superior impact resistance and the energy efficiency of thermal insulation, but they show how plastic glazing is a bold new frontier. It’s also worth noting that these windows meet government glazing standards. Their contribution to the specifications that are required for security concerns helps to create environments that are safer.

What Is The Yield Strength Of Polycarbonate?

Before we can explain the yield strength of polycarbonate, we need to first understand that yield strength, which defines an object according to its rigidity or pliability, is the point when the object becomes plastic instead of elastic. Its yield strength is the maximum amount of stress that a material is capable of withstanding before permanent deformation occurs.

Pliability is a factor that is significant when making selections of building materials. Because polycarbonate is justifiably touted as a superior material in terms of its strength and its flexibility, these features have shown that glass, once a very popular construction material, is inferior in the metrics that matter for architects, manufacturers, and consumers. Polycarbonate is soft, light in weight, and thin, but that doesn’t mean that it’s weak. In fact, polycarbonate bends, but does not break. Instead, it absorbs the impact. Glass, on the other hand, shatters.

Crunching The Numbers For The Yield Strength Of Polycarbonate

When we realize that polycarbonate is 250 times stronger than glass, and is able to resist temperatures up to 240 degrees Fahrenheit, we begin to understand the way in which the yield strength of polycarbonate affects the construction options available to architects.

Polycarbonate owes its strength to a powerhouse chemical structure, with the strong bonds exhibited by its molecules. Because polycarbonate boasts both strength and flexibility, it’s able to absorb the force of an impact and be restored to its prior shape. This feature gives polycarbonate the edge in terms of its resilience to weather: the force of hail, rain, snow, and wind packs a punch but polycarbonate is strong enough to take it.

Double Wall Sheeting Contributes To the Yield Strength of Polycarbonate

Double wall polycarbonate sheets are thicker, with multi layers that contribute to superior thermal insulation. Insulation is always a matter of concern for homeowners because energy efficiency is a priority for today’s consumers, who place an emphasis on environmental responsiveness. Those layers that fortify the insulating properties of polycarbonate also enhance this building material’s resistance to impact. As each layer is capable of absorbing a portion of the pressure, the effect of the impact is distributed throughout and prevents a single area from taking its full force.

When constructing a building feature that needs to incorporate flexibility into its function, double wall polycarbonate is preferred to solid polycarbonate, because it adapts more readily to movement.

Structures That Demonstrate The Yield Strength of Polycarbonate

Sometimes it’s easier to understand yield strength when we consider the types of products which use polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is bullet-proof, a feature which significantly enhances its usage in safety products such as goggles and riot shields. Double wall polycarbonate is often in the building of garages, carports, and conservatories. Solid polycarbonate is an excellent substitute for glass because it allows sunlight to enter, which is why it’s so often used in greenhouses.

The Difference Between Yield Strength and Tensile Strength

These two categories of strengths are important factors when the material’s critical mechanical properties are reviewed. While yield strength is identified as the maximum pressure that a material can bear until it reaches the point where it is no longer able to be restored to its original dimensions, tensile strength measures the maximum point of stress beyond which the material actually breaks. If a material is brittle, its tensile strength is the most important metric to consider. If it is a ductile material, then its yield strength reveals more about its performance capabilities.

Knowing the yield strength of polycarbonate is one of the ways in which the incredible flexibility and strength of this building material can be most appreciated. Glass can’t compare to polycarbonate.

For everyone who has asked “Is polycarbonate flexible?”, we suggest that all you need to do is look around you at the products that are made of it. Polycarbonate shows up in items as varied as the car that you drive, the music that you listen to, the lighting fixtures in your home, and the glasses that you wear. Polycarbonate’s advantages in eyewear come from its light weight and because it has a natural UV filter. That’s one of the charms of the building material; it offers so much in terms of flexibility and usage, and has so many advantages over glass. A building material that can be shaped has an appeal both for professional architects and builders, but also for ordinary men and women intent on a home remodeling project. You don’t even need to use heat to mold polycarbonate into the desired shape. Because of the inherent strength of polycarbonate; it doesn’t break, even if you shape the sheet while it’s cold. Keep reading to learn more about the remarkable flexibility of polycarbonate and reasons why there’s such a contemporary focus on polycarbonate in architecture.

Is Polycarbonate Flexible Enough For Construction?

A material as versatile as polycarbonate is remarkable because its flexibility allows it to be adapted for a multitude of products. A material such as polycarbonate, which can be reshaped without breaking or even cracking, is capable of withstanding impacts that would shatter lesser materials. Combining strength and flexibility make polycarbonate a vastly more popular choice than glass for residential and commercial design.

Placing The Focus On Polycarbonate In Architecture And Its Environmental Advantages

The versatility and durability that polycarbonate displays in so many applications are some of the reasons why it’s a popular choice for building materials. Strength is a paramount consideration when an architect is designing a structure, whether it’s for commercial or residential use. A building must be strong enough to shelter the occupants within. It must be able to withstand the rigors of weather, which can, according to the season, deliver fierce punishment in the form of snow, rain, wind, hail, and even sunlight. Polycarbonate easily answers that call because it’s lighter than glass, but 200 times stronger. But unlike glass, polycarbonate is easier to shape. Another winning attribute of the material is its resistance to moisture. Because it doesn’t absorb moisture, the surface of polycarbonate is not readily susceptible to scratching .

Once the building has been constructed, its internal performance becomes a major consideration. For today’s consumer, environmental concerns are as much a priority as the durability of the building itself. Polycarbonate is easily recycled, which is always an advantage for any building material. Once again, polycarbonate is superior to glass in its energy-saving properties. Polycarbonate is a superior insulator, much better than glass. The lower energy costs that accompany effective insulating capabilities are a winning combination for consumers paying utility bills.

Esthetics matter as well in the construction of a building. Glass has long been a popular building material because it’s transparent and adds to its appeal. But glass is not flexible. Nor is it easy to work with. Polycarbonate brings its visual attractions, along with its light weight and flexibility, to such architectural features such as skylights.

How Is Polycarbonate Flexible As A Plastic?

Plastics are not known for being flexible. But polycarbonate, a thermoplastic, softens when it’s heated. Yet polycarbonate is also flexible when cold bending is applied. In fact, cold bending is the typical process used in shaping the material. Polycarbonate is not just something that building professionals use; even if you’re an amateur do-it-yourselfer, you can bend a sheet of polycarbonate with a heating coil or a filament. If these items aren’t available, you can shape the sheet with an oven or paint burner.

With so much to offer, polycarbonate can transform the look and performance of a building while adding to its visual appeal.

Does Polycarbonate Block UV?

We need to be protected from ultraviolet radiation, and polycarbonate UV resistance accomplishes that because of the nature of polycarbonate itself. It’s worth noting that polycarbonate panels themselves need to be protected from ultraviolet radiation. At Danpal, the quality of our building materials, and the safety of the people in those buildings, is a priority. That’s right; not only do we pay attention to the people who work and live beneath a polycarbonate roofing system, but Danpal also employs measures to ensure that the sheets themselves are manufactured with polycarbonate UV protection. That’s accomplished by the application of layers of protective coating on the polycarbonate sheets.

Where Polycarbonate UV Resistance Is Needed

UV stands for ultraviolet radiation waves that are shorter than light and longer than X-rays. Approximately 10% of the radiation that the sun generates is ultraviolet radiation waves. The atmosphere absorbs most of the dangerous UV radiation. The occupants of buildings and homes with polycarbonate panels can be assured that polycarbonate UV protection is part of the architectural design, not for themselves, but for the building material.

Too much exposure to the sun brings significant risks, but those aren’t risks you’ll incur by sitting under a polycarbonate roof. People know that ultraviolet radiation outside can increase the danger of skin cancer; in fact, deadly melanoma correlates with degrees of ultraviolet exposure. You don’t want to be running the risk of exposing yourself to Ultraviolet B or UVB, which causes different degrees of sunburn and can also cause cancer. Ultraviolet A or UVA is associated with wrinkles as the skin ages prematurely. When exposed to ultraviolet waves, cornea damage to the eyes can result, possibly leading to the formation of cataracts.

Ultraviolet radiation also inflicts damage on inanimate objects as well, which is why polycarbonate UV protection is important for the panels themselves.

Does Polycarbonate Sheet Block UV?

The good news is that polycarbonate is able to block both Ultraviolet A and Ultraviolet B by absorbing the radiation and preventing it from being transmitted. Polycarbonate UV resistance can actually protect the skin better than sun block creams; even a very thin polycarbonate sheet absorbs the UV rays. While blocking the UV waves, the polycarbonate panels still transmit visible light, so that colors can be seen.

That information explains why polycarbonate UV protection is a smart move for a swimming pool that has polycarbonate roofing. The ultraviolet radiation is fully blocked and the natural light is transmitted.

So if you’re wondering, “Does polycarbonate sheet block UV,” the answer is yes. Unlike glass, fiberglass, and acrylic, polycarbonate in its natural form can block ultraviolet radiation.

Then Why Does Polycarbonate Need Polycarbonate UV Protection?

The protection that polycarbonate panels offer is derived from absorbing the ultraviolet radiation. Over time, the polycarbonate sheets would become yellowed or discolored. The deterioration of the polycarbonate would weaken the material and eventually cause it to break. Polycarbonate UV resistance is a means of protecting the polycarbonate from the degradation of its properties.

In order to shield the polycarbonate from discoloring and yellowing, manufacturers provide a very thin protective coating. The coating is so thin that the naked human eye cannot detect it. The coating will not affect the look or performance of the polycarbonate sheet. What it does accomplish is to safeguard the polycarbonate’s performance. Even if the polycarbonate material is part of a structure that’s located in a punishing and hot environment—think Australia, the Middle East, and parts of the American Southwest—this protection allows the sheet to retain its clarity.

The protective layer is generally applied to one side of the sheet, although both sides can be coated. What matters is that the side of the sheet that faces the sun and bears its full force has the protective coating.

What this means is that polycarbonate UV protection keeps you safe by absorbing ultraviolet rays. But polycarbonate UV resistance is needed so that the material itself will not deteriorate over time as a result of the ultraviolet absorption.