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**Kimeoffessyr** · 08-04-2012, 03:41 AM

Can rust affect the surface of glass beyond cosmetic staining?

I have recently had a 10mm safety glass shower screen explode into small pieces, I was at home at the time and it sounded like a gun going off.

There was no-one in the bathroom, no breeze going through the house, no noise (vibration) from a stereo or tv, and the day was a very mild one with little change in temperature. It would be amongst the most stable conditions the screen has experience in the time since it was installed, then.. KABOOM.

I dont know about it being that loud

But your temp , vibs , breeze wont make 10mm toughened pop.

The reason I ask about rust is that, in cleaning up, I noticed one screw holding the base mount down was rusted. The rust had spread to the glass and had stained at least one of the pieces I found, I am wondering if the rust could have affected the surface of the safety glass enough to cause the explosion?

I have in the past noticed materials that can't themselves rust getting pitted by rusty items so I was wondering about that possibility in this case.

A little semi circular clamp about 40mm long 20 high? Yeah they come with a zinc plated locating screw that you shouldn't use but the rust on the glass wont make it blow, in an extreme case when a screw rusts it expands but those screws are too small and it has other places to go.[/QUOTE]

One other thing I noticed was that there were a lot of small, very fine, slithers and shavings of glass to be cleaned up, a lot more than my only other previous experience with shattered safety glass which was a broken car windscreen going back a fair few years, can this be an indication of poor manufacture?

No those pieces come off along the polished edge , actually a poorly or incorrectly toughened sheet will have big pieces .

10mm can blow spontaneously but it is exceptionally rare, the most common causes are a "seed" or inclusion in the glass (usually only found in cheap imported shite), a Nickel sulphide crystal growing also (again rare).
Most of the time it is rubbing on a screw head , the wall/floor has moved or has been at some time prior to install been placed on concrete. If it was a really bad install and it was off the floor and the wall fixing gave out it can rotate out of the channel and the corner can hit the tiles.

Brett

08-04-2012, 03:41 AM	#11
Kimeoffessyr Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 514 Senior Member	Can rust affect the surface of glass beyond cosmetic staining? I have recently had a 10mm safety glass shower screen explode into small pieces, I was at home at the time and it sounded like a gun going off. There was no-one in the bathroom, no breeze going through the house, no noise (vibration) from a stereo or tv, and the day was a very mild one with little change in temperature. It would be amongst the most stable conditions the screen has experience in the time since it was installed, then.. KABOOM. I dont know about it being that loud But your temp , vibs , breeze wont make 10mm toughened pop. The reason I ask about rust is that, in cleaning up, I noticed one screw holding the base mount down was rusted. The rust had spread to the glass and had stained at least one of the pieces I found, I am wondering if the rust could have affected the surface of the safety glass enough to cause the explosion? I have in the past noticed materials that can't themselves rust getting pitted by rusty items so I was wondering about that possibility in this case. A little semi circular clamp about 40mm long 20 high? Yeah they come with a zinc plated locating screw that you shouldn't use but the rust on the glass wont make it blow, in an extreme case when a screw rusts it expands but those screws are too small and it has other places to go.[/QUOTE] One other thing I noticed was that there were a lot of small, very fine, slithers and shavings of glass to be cleaned up, a lot more than my only other previous experience with shattered safety glass which was a broken car windscreen going back a fair few years, can this be an indication of poor manufacture? No those pieces come off along the polished edge , actually a poorly or incorrectly toughened sheet will have big pieces . 10mm can blow spontaneously but it is exceptionally rare, the most common causes are a "seed" or inclusion in the glass (usually only found in cheap imported shite), a Nickel sulphide crystal growing also (again rare). Most of the time it is rubbing on a screw head , the wall/floor has moved or has been at some time prior to install been placed on concrete. If it was a really bad install and it was off the floor and the wall fixing gave out it can rotate out of the channel and the corner can hit the tiles. Brett
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