BENEFICIATION
glass is made. This type of glass does
not from sharp edged pieces even when
broken. Used in skylights, windows
and flooring.
Darryl Franks, research and development
manager at SA Bullet Resistant Glass Co
(SABRG), says, “First and foremost, one of
the primary uses for bullet resistant glass
is to prevent high velocity projectiles from
entering a predetermined safe area. Yet,
in practice there are many varied threats
which SABRG products are expected to
withstand. SABRG provides glass that
not only provides ballistic protection but
also protection against sustained manual
attacks (such as bricks, crowbars, hammers
and more), bomb blasts or flying debris in
areas such as mines or quarries. SABRG’s
primary products for these applications
are: Resistoglas, a product best suited for
applications where mass is not of primary
concern; and Resistolite, an advanced
lightweight composite solution.
“In the civilian market Resistoglas and in
certain cases Resistolite, finds application
in secure facilities and installations
particularly vulnerable to armed attacks.
To name just a few areas where people
have come into contact with our glass are
banks, cash centres, petrol stations, ATMs
and even fast food restaurants, requiring
SABRG products. Our glass is also used in
mobile applications, most notably vehicles.
Resistolite is often used for cash in transit
vehicles, VIP protection vehicles and
armoured cars for members of the public,”
says Franks.
“In the realm of protection for
government, military and police, once
again we use both Resistoglas and
Resistolite. The level of protection in
these applications is often to much higher
specifications as the types of threats that are
protected against tend to be more severe.
One would have seen SABRG’s Resistolite
protecting our presidents during every
inauguration since 1994 in the form of a
protective screen, in government facilities
nationwide and in locally produced
seaborne and land based military vehicles,”
he adds.
“Interestingly, our glass with minor
tweaks to its design is also very well suited
to areas which require high performance
glass. This glass is not necessarily going
stop bullets but if you’ve ever wondered
if you could trust a glass floor walkway or
www.quarryonline.co.za
And then there’s bulletproof
glass
Darryl Franks, research and development manager at SA Bullet Resistant Glass Co with Resistoglas.
the glass separating you from lions and
bears at the zoo, we can assure that it is safe
provided it is Resistoglas.”
He explains how glass is made tough
enough for that use. “Resistoglas and
Resitolite are laminates. Simply put, these
products are a ‘sandwich’ of layers of glass
and polymers in various arrangements.
This means that once consolidated,
Resistoglas and Resistolite take on both
the properties of the polymers and the raw
glass. Namely, the flexibility and toughness
of the polymers and the hardness and
rigidity of the glass. The final product
therefore far outperforms each of the
individual components in isolation. Of
course, thicknesses and arrangements
of these components differ for various
threats and these arrangements have been
continuously developed and optimised over
the nearly 40 years that SABRG has been in
business,” says Franks.
QUARRY SA | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018_35