101-0639-01L  Science and Engineering of Glass and Natural Stone in Construction

SemesterAutumn Semester 2017
LecturersF. Wittel, T. Wangler
Periodicitytwo-yearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish


AbstractThe course offers an overview of relevant practical issues and present technological challenges for glass and natural stones in constructions. Students gain a good knowledge of the basics of glasses and natural stones, their potential as engineering materials and learn to apply them in the design of civil engineering constructions and to evaluate concepts.
ObjectiveGlass is increasingly used in constructions to ease the construction process, as functional insulation barrier, even for structural applications of impressive size. While everyone has experienced the innovation potential of glass in the last decade, products from natural stone suffer from an unjustified traditional image that often originates from a lack of understanding of the material and its combination with other materials. Culturally important structures often are made from natural stone and their conservation demands an understanding of their deterioration mechanisms, the concepts of which can be applied to other civil engineering materials. Designers and engineers need the knowledge to reconcile materials and system behavior with the entire processing, handling, integration and life time in mind.
In this module students are provided with a broad fundamental as well as practice-oriented education on glass and natural stone in civil engineering applications. Present and future construction and building concepts demand for such materials with optimized properties. Based on the fundamentals from the Bachelor course in materials by the end of this module, you should be able to:

-recognize and choose specific applications from the broad overview you were provided with,

-relate processing technologies to typical products and building applications and recognize (and explain typical damage related to wrong material choice or application,

-explain the nature of glassy and crystalline materials and interpret their physical behavior against this background,

-explain the major deterioration mechanisms in natural stone and how this relates to durability,

-analyze material combinations and appraise their application in future products as well as integration in existing constructions,

-summarize with appropriate guidance publications on a related topic in an oral presentation and short report.
ContentLecture 1: An introduction to science and engineering of glass and natural stone in construction (FW/TW)

Lecture 2: Glass chemistry including historical development of glass composition, use of raw materials, melts, chemical stability and corrosion. (FW)

Lecture 3: Geology and mineralogy of stones used in construction. Formation processes, chemistry, crystal structure. (TW)

Lecture 4: Microscopic models for glassy materials. Physics of vitrification. From microscopic physical models to thermodynamics, rheology and mechanics of glassy materials. (FW)

Lecture 5: Stone properties and behavior: microstructure, density, porosity, mechanical properties (TW)

Lecture 6: Glass physics: Optical properties (transmission, reflection, emission, refraction, polarization and birefringence, testing methods); Mechanical properties (density, thermal, mechanical, electric properties, glass testing) (FW)

Lecture 7: Stone properties and durability: transport, moisture and thermal cycling (TW)

Lecture 8: Forming and processing of glass: (plate and molded glass, drawing, slumping, profiling etc.; Processing: Cutting, mechanical processing, tempering, gluing, bending, laminating of glass Surface treatments: coating, sputtering, enameling, printing, etching, chemical pre-stressing.) (FW)

Lecture 9: Durability: Salt crystallization, freezing, biodeterioration (TW)

Lecture 10: Glass products for civil engineering applications: (Molded glasses, fiber glass, foam glass, plate glass); construction glass (insulation glass, structural glass, protective glass, intelligent glass, codes); (FW)

Lecture 11: Conservation: Consolidation, cleaning, and other treatments (TW).

Lecture 12: Glass in constructions. (modelling, application and regulation, typical damage in glass) (FW)

Lecture 13: Student presentations; exam questions (FW/TW)
Lecture notesWill be handed out in the lectures
LiteratureWerkstoffe II script (download via the IFB homepage). Rest will be handed out in the lectures
Prerequisites / NoticeWerkstoffe I/II of the bachelor studies or equivalent introductory materials lecture.