Testing For Hurricane Resistant Sliding Glass Doors - IQ Glass International

How do you make a hurricane resistant sliding glass doors 

When a glass door needs to be classed as ‘hurricane resistance’ it has to be tested to show its strength and durability. Our hurricane resistant sliding glass doors underwent vigorous testing and one of Europe’s leading testing facilities to prove its strength against the forces of a hurricane and achieve the requirements for Florida Building Code Test Protocols (or TAS).

Hurricane resistant sliding glass doors are glass doors that have been tested and shown that they are strong enough to withstand the wind, rain and impact of a hurricane storm. With ultra slim 26mm metal frames, our hurricane resistant glass doors are not only robust and secure, but minimal and elegant, for use on modern and contemporary architecture projects.

Hidden within the slim metal profiling is a range of security and strengthening technologies which allowed these sliding glass doors to be hurricane resistant.

The below overview of hurricane testing is based on the Florida Building Code Test Protocols which test for high velocity hurricane zones, one of the harshest environments to test for. Our slim sliding glass doors achieved hurricane resistant status under this extreme weather testing.

Hurricane Resistant Sliding Glass Doors
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Testing sliding Glass Doors Against Hurricane Wind and Rain

Florida building code test protocols provide a range of tests to help to prove that a door is hurricane resistant. When testing hurricane resistant sliding glass doors, it first undergoes a series of tests to challenge its ability to protect against strong winds and driving rain.

The glass door is tested for air filtration to see how much air leaks through the slim metal frames and glass. Positive and negative air pressure is applied to the glass door surface and the measure of air travel is measured. This is part of the TAS 202 testing protocol and a glass door can only be hurricane resistant if it passes this test.

To prove hurricane resistance, the sliding glass door then undergoes wind testing. Varying wind pressures are applied to the sliding glass door surface and the movement or deflection in the frame is tested. You can only claim hurricane resistant sliding glass door status if the deflection is within the parameters of the TAS 202 protocols and there is no damage to the glass door.

Then the sliding glass door is tested for hurricane levels of driving rain. High pressure water is directed at the glass door for a period of time. The door can only pass this hurricane proof test if no water passes through the door at all throughout the test.

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Testing Sliding Glass Doors for Hurricane Storms 

Hurricanes are more than just strong storms. These types of tropical storms are cyclic and result in heavy winds.

In order for a sliding glass door to be hurricane resistant, it also has to show that it can stand up against these environments. Part of the hurricane resistance testing within Florida building code is impact testing. This mimics the impact of storm thrown items at the glass doors to show how they will performance in these circumstances.

A air cannon is typically used to fire objects at the sliding glass door surface. In order for the glass door to be hurricane proof, no damage or particles can be evident on the ‘inside’ face of the glass door.

A hurricane resistant sliding glass door must then undergo a cyclic wind load test. This si the final part of the high velocity hurricane test. The deflection of the sliding glass door is measured as well as any damage.

Our sliding glass door underwent all the tests above and passed every stage, allowing it to be awarded with the title of a hurricane resistant sliding glass door. In fact, due to the slim nature of the framing it is the only glass door of its kind on the market with this level of storm protection testing.

If you are interested in learning more about our hurricane resistant sliding glass door and glazing range, just contact the team at IQ International today.