Comparison of glass partition building materials Advantages and disadvantages of glass bricks and U-shaped glass

Glass bricks and U-shaped glass have many similar characteristics in lighting design and application. The following explains the differences between glass bricks and U-shaped glass from 7 aspects
1. Shape difference: U-shaped glass has a U-shaped cross-section, with four widths of 232mm, 262mm, 331mm, and 498mm, and three wing heights of 41mm, 60mm, and 90mm. Not only is the shape change flexible, but U-glass can also be cut according to the existing wall length, allowing designers to flexibly plan the wall length. Glass bricks are three-dimensional, with standard whole brick sizes of 190*190*90/80mm and half brick sizes of 90*190*90/80mm. Designers need to plan according to the mold size of the glass bricks when planning, and the overall planning is less flexible.
2. Assembly differences: U-shaped glass is composed of a wing plate and a web plate. When a force acts on the web plate, the web plate will transfer the force to the wing plate, and the wing plate will transfer the force to the upper and lower grooves. The force transfer is transmitted by the glass material. Therefore, the U-shaped glass only needs upper and lower grooves to be fixed, and no grooves are needed on the left and right sides of the glass to fix the glass. The fixation of glass bricks mainly relies on adhesives such as mortar and steel rods. Because the steel rods are not fixed to the floor or wall, the whole structure is mainly bonded to the floor and wall with mortar, and the overall structural property is poor. The higher the wall, the more convenient the U-shaped glass is to assemble, mainly because the U-shaped glass is a glass to the top and the assembly speed is fast. On the contrary, because glass bricks are fixed by mortar, the assembly height cannot be too high. The lower glass bricks need to wait for the lower mortar to harden before the upper glass bricks can be assembled. For a four-meter-high wall, U-shaped glass can be assembled in one day, while glass bricks take about four to five days to complete. The two U-shaped glasses are dry construction and will not dirty the construction site; glass bricks are wet construction, and mixing mortar and laying glass bricks on site can easily dirty the construction site!
3. Earthquake resistance: The U-shaped glass is assembled by fixing it with elastic upper and lower PVC. There is an appropriate gap between the glass and the glass to prevent the glass from colliding hard. When installing double-layer glass, Gasket soft rubber strips will be used to separate the opposite glass to avoid collision. The overall assembly planning adopts a flexible design. Glass bricks are mainly installed with steel rods and mortar. The combination concept adopts a rigid method, and the steel rods cannot be combined with the structure. In the earthquake zone, Taiwan may face a magnitude 4 or 5 earthquake at any time. It is foreseeable that the mortar joints will crack under long-term earthquakes. This is also the point where glass bricks are generally criticized by users.
4. Wall size flexibility: Regardless of whether the size of the glass brick is 19*19 or 9*19, when planning, whether vertical or horizontal, it must be planned according to the mold size. There is almost no solution for insufficient glass bricks because glass bricks cannot be cut. On the contrary, the size of the U-shaped glass is very flexible. If there are insufficient pieces in the horizontal direction, U-shaped glass can be cut into glass that meets the on-site size; similarly, U-shaped glass in the vertical direction can also be cut according to the height of the on-site size, so that the glass can be kept to the top without connection.
5. Finishing method: The glass brick wall must be finished with beams, walls, and floor seats. If there is no wall, wood or metal must be used for edge finishing. U-shaped glass is mainly fixed by upper and lower grooves, that is, the left and right sides of the U-shaped glass do not need structures for force transmission. In addition, U-shaped glass is bent and formed in one piece in a high-temperature liquid state, and the wing plate itself can be used for edge finishing, so the edge finishing cost can be saved during planning.
6. Aesthetics: Glass bricks are square or rectangular, with a standard gap width of 1 cm. Mortar is used to fill the gaps. The overall appearance is grid-like, and the bricks are discontinuous. The upper and lower frames of U-shaped glass can be designed with hidden frames. The whole has only vertical seams and no horizontal seams. The appearance is modern and simple. The ultra-white glass material allows the glass to have a higher light transmission rate. LED lights can be installed between the glass to form a light wall, making the wall more beautiful.
7. Affordability: As mentioned above, for a four-meter-high wall, glass bricks can be worked twice a day, and at least 8-10 workers are required to complete it, while U-shaped glass only needs 2 workers to complete it. The sides of the glass bricks need to be trimmed with wood or metal; U-shaped glass can be trimmed with its own glass without the need for additional work. In this era of rising wages and extreme labor shortages, the only way is to use labor-saving and material-saving methods.