Rooms with transparent doors, light-flooded side walls and skylights – open architecture is now made possible by a special sheet size for fire-rated glazing. PYRAN® Platinum glass-ceramic in its new version, which was developed especially for the North American market, is now available in 51-inch by 99-inch panels. SCHOTT has set yet another milestone with this new size. PYRAN® Platinum is currently not only the world’s first and only floated glass-ceramic developed specifically for architectural applications. It is also currently the industry’s largest fire-rated glass-ceramic panel.

“Thanks to the substantial efforts of our product development team, PYRAN® Platinum’s larger size will provide more installation opportunities for fire-rated glass,” says Dan Poling, FRG Sales Manager at SCHOTT North America.

The larger sheet size does not compromise safety. The fire-rated glass-ceramic is able to withstand the fire endurance test, in which it is subjected to temperatures of up to 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes (180 minutes for door glass). Immediately after the fire endurance test, the PYRAN® Platinum glass-ceramic panel undergoes the hose stream test, where the fire-exposed side is hit with a blast of water from a fire hose at 30 psi. The glazing must remain intact, without breaking or cracking. PYRAN® Platinum glass-ceramic, with its high temperature and thermal shock resistance, passes with flying colors. That is not its only remarkable feature. Thanks to its microfloat manufacturing process, PYRAN® Platinum glass-ceramic offers a mirror-like surface quality and outstanding optical quality unmatched by any other fire-rated glass-ceramic on the market. Other processing methods, such as rolled glass-ceramic, typically require polishing to remove distortions. Other commercially available transparent glass-ceramics also have an unwanted amber tint. Not PYRAN® Platinum. The product provides true color rendition and is also environmentally friendly, as it is produced without the hazardous heavy metals antimony and arsenic which are often used as refining agents in production.

And the new large size provides even more benefits: “Architects can now design spaces that contribute to effective daylighting, maximize visual comfort, and potentially reduce energy use,” says Dan Poling.

Safety on the seven seas

By the way, fire-resistant glazing from SCHOTT is not only used for buildings, but also “royal“ ship construction. It’s one of the largest cruise ships in the world: 345 meters long and 41 meters wide, the Queen Mary 2 accommodates up to 3,090 passengers in 1,310 cabins. Fire resistant glazing was one of many advances made to the flagship of the British Cunard Cruise Line during a general overhaul in 2016: 160 panes of SCHOTT’s thermally tempered PYRAN® S borosilicate glass. They withstand not only fire, smoke and toxic gas for 60 minutes, but also the pressure caused by pounding waves, as was confirmed by a pressure test according to ISO 6014. “PYRAN® S special glass for fire resistant glazing is ideally suited for passenger ships. It stays transparent even in the most extreme heat conditions, aiding evacuation in case of fire,” says Lutz Nöthlich, Sales Manager Export, SCHOTT Technical Glass Solutions.

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