Theory and Standards for Insulating glass unit analysis
Glass Types, Safety Classification, Sealed Unit Behaviour, and the Calculation Framework — Understanding the Glass Report Before Signing It Off
Course Description
Glass is the part of the facade everyone looks at and almost no one thinks about as a structural element — yet every pane carries wind, sometimes people leaning on it, and, in a sealed unit, a pressure load that exists whether or not the wind blows. This comprehensive technical CPD course builds understanding rather than procedures: the glass types and why each exists, the safety rules, what shapes the glass build-up, how a sealed unit behaves, and the calculation framework behind every glass report.
You'll learn the glass family — annealed, heat strengthened, toughened with its nickel sulphide risk, laminated, enamelled, and chemically strengthened — and why the same breakage pattern that makes toughened glass safe at low level makes it a problem overhead. The course covers the pendulum classification of safety glass and its North American counterpart, the factors that determine a build-up from acoustics to fire, the construction of a sealed unit, and the behaviour that makes it unique: wind on the outer pane squeezes the cavity gas and loads the inner pane, and the sealed-in climate creates the cavity pressure load that is the most often forgotten load in facade glass.
Presented by Eugene Korch (facade engineer and IAST Programme Director), the course then explains the calculation framework: the European standard for glass as an infill panel and the coming dedicated design code, the North American probability-of-breakage approach, the time-dependent strength of glass, the interlayer subtlety of laminated panes, and the load sharing method that distributes every load between the panes of a sealed unit.
Closing with the anatomy of a glass static analysis report — the stress limits table at its heart, the summer and winter climatic cases — and the four most common and dangerous errors found in real reports, this course is designed to let you read, check, and challenge a glass calculation with confidence.
Included in Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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Name the main glass types — annealed, heat strengthened, toughened, laminated, enamelled, chemically strengthened — and explain why each exists
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Explain the toughened glass trade-off: safe breakage at low level, disappearance overhead, and the nickel sulphide risk
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Describe how safety glass is classified by the pendulum impact test, and how North America regulates the same risk
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Identify where safety glass is required and how the requirement drives glass selection
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List the factors that determine a glass build-up: acoustics, thermal performance, solar control, safety, fire, structure, and panel size
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Describe what is inside a sealed insulating glass unit: panes, spacer, desiccant, seals, and gas fill
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Explain the coupling behaviour of a sealed cavity: load on one pane loads the other through the gas
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Understand cavity pressure as a genuine load: the sealed-in temperature, barometric pressure, and altitude versus the in-service extremes
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Recognise the loads on facade glass: wind, barrier loads, self-weight on sloped glazing, snow, maintenance, and their combinations
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Explain time-dependent glass strength and why load duration changes the allowable stress
What's Covered
Introduction
Glass as the structural element nobody thinks about.
Understanding, not procedures: what this lecture builds.
Where this lecture sits: at the end of the load path.
Glass Types: What Exists and Why
Float glass and the annealed baseline.
Heat strengthened glass: the middle ground.
Toughened glass: strength, safe breakage, disappearance overhead, and nickel sulphide.
Laminated glass: the interlayer and post-breakage behaviour.
Enamelled and chemically strengthened glass.
Safety Requirements: What the Codes Demand and Why
The universal principle: broken glass must not seriously injure.
The European pendulum classification and the drop heights.
The North American impactor approach.
Where safety glass is required and what it does to the specification.
What Determines the Glass Build-Up
Acoustics, thermal performance, and solar control.
Fire rules, with the English case as the worked example.
The structural requirement and when it governs.
Panel size: the factor that touches everything at once.
Insulating Glass Units: Construction and Behaviour
Panes, spacer bars, desiccant, and the two seals.
Warm edge spacers and gas fills: argon, krypton, and why.
The coupling behaviour: one pane loaded, both panes working.
Triple glazing: the same physics, one step further.
Loads on Facade Glass
Wind from the wind calculation: zone by zone.
Barrier loads in three shapes.
Self-weight on sloped glazing, snow, and maintenance loads.
Cavity pressure: the load unique to sealed units and the one most often forgotten.
Combinations: the pane never feels one load at a time.
The Calculation Framework: Principles, Not Procedures
The European standard for glass as an infill panel, and the coming design code.
The North American probability-of-breakage approach.
Time-dependent strength: why duration changes everything.
The laminated pane and the two extremes of the interlayer.
Load sharing between the panes of a sealed unit.
Deflection guidance and what it protects.
The Glass Static Analysis Report
The stable anatomy of every glass report.
The stress limits table: glass type against load duration.
The climatic parameters: the summer case and the winter case.
The checklist for reviewing a glass report.
Common Errors and Practical Guidance
The forgotten cavity pressure: two real report extracts compared.
One pane checked instead of both.
The wrong duration factor in a combination.
Trusting one extreme of the interlayer.
Summary
The complete picture: types, safety, build-up, behaviour, framework, report.
Course Schedule
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Course Overview
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Course Objectives
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How to Navigate the Learning Materials
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Introduction Video
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Lecture
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Post-Lecture Reading List
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Certificate: Download & Share
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About this course
- £120.00
- Practice test questions
- CPD Certificate: 1.5 hrs
- Interactive 3D models
Your Instructors
Programme Director, IAST Eugene Korch
Eugene is a façade engineer and educator with extensive experience in building envelope design and technical specification. Through the Institute for Architectural Science and Technology (IAST) and Facade Intelligence, he delivers CPD training to architects and construction professionals across the UK. His teaching approach emphasizes practical application and accessibility, making complex technical subjects understandable for design professionals.
Who Should Enrol
This course is designed for:
Architects needing to understand what drives a glass specification and how to read the report behind it.
Architectural Technologists working with glazing details and specifications.
Envelope Designers coordinating glass build-ups with acoustic, thermal, fire, and structural requirements.
Façade Specialist Contractors requiring a working knowledge of glass calculations and their review.
Junior Façade Engineers building the theory behind the glass software they will use.
Building Envelope Consultants advising clients on glazing specification and verification.
Structural Engineers needing to understand how glass carries load and why its strength depends on time.
Project Managers overseeing projects where the glass package carries significant cost and risk.
Cost Consultants understanding how safety, acoustics, and structure drive glass cost.
Design Managers coordinating façade packages and glass procurement.
Course Details
Format: Self-paced online course with video lectures.
Available from: [DATE TBC].
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours.
CPD Points: 1.5 hours structured CPD / 1 Learning Unit.
Access: 12 months from enrolment.
Certificate: CPD certificate issued upon completion.
Prerequisites: None — introductory level. Pairs naturally with Wind in Action, which produces the wind pressures this course applies to the glass.
Materials: Downloadable resources and reference guides included.
What Makes This Course Different
Understanding before procedures: why each glass type exists, why the codes demand what they demand, and why the sealed unit behaves the way it does.
The cavity pressure load given the prominence it deserves — the most often forgotten load in façade glass, shown through real anonymised report extracts.
Both sides of the Atlantic: the European framework and the North American probability-of-breakage approach, compared honestly.
Time-dependent strength and the interlayer subtlety explained properly, so the software outputs stop being magic.
The glass report treated as a document to be read and challenged — with the four common errors and the reviewer's checklist.
Join the Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Membership fees start from £320 per year
Gain access to all upcoming seminars and a wide range of the most sought-after short courses.
Corporate discounts are available for teams of 10 or more.
For a bespoke quote, please contact our team at [email protected].
