Glassary - F

Façade:
the face of a building, or the cladding covering it.

Façade element:
a part of the façade, such as a window or spandrel panel.

Face clearance:
the distance between the glass and the rebate upstand. This is usually filled with a gasket or sealant.

Fanlight:
the glazing immediately above the door.

Faraday Cage:
a complete electrically conducting earthed screen around a volume of space, across which electrical fields, including electromagnetic radiation, cannot pass. In terms of data protection, this requires all the surfaces of a room to contain a metal mesh or be made from electrically conducting materials. There is further information in Product Data Sheet Pilkington Datastop™.

Film:
see applied film.

Fin:
an alternative term for glass mullion.

Fin box:
the glazing system used at the ends of glass mullions to retain them.

Fire barrier:
an element of construction, such as a wall, partition or glazed screen, which gives an appropriate level of fire resistance.

Fire performance:
the length of time an element of construction, such as a wall, partition or glazed screen, continues to give fire resistance when tested under simulated fire conditions according to BS 476: Part 20.

Fire propagation:
see reaction to fire.

Fire protection:
the action of a fire barrier in containing a fire.

Fire resistance:
the ability of an element of construction, such as a wall, partition or glazed screen, to maintain integrity and / or insulation when tested under simulated fire conditions according to BS 476: Part 20.

Fire resistant glass:
a glass that in an appropriate glazing system, allows the glazed screen door to achieve fire resistance for more than 30 minutes. The fire resistant glass may be a non-insulating glass, i.e. it satisfies only the integrity requirements of BS 476 for the time recorded during the test, or it may be fully insulating glass, i.e. it satisfies both the integrity and insulation requirements of BS 476 for the time recorded during the test.

Fire safety:
see fire protection.

Fired-on transfer:
an applied transfer containing ceramic material or enamel, which is melted into the glass surface at high temperature.

Fixing:
depending on the context this may mean either:

• The method of retaining the glass in position on the building, or
• The action of installing the glass (glazing it).

Flat Bed:
a type of lorry, which has a flat open area to stand the load on. This sort of vehicle might be used for delivering end caps or stillages.

Flat ground edge:
a glass edge, which has been completely flattened by a grinding machine, after which the sharp corners are arrissed. The surface appearance is similar to sand blasting.

Flemish™:
Pilkington Flemish™ is the brand name for one of the Pilkington Texture Glass™ range (see consumer leaflet Pilkington Texture Glass™) of patterned glass. Pilkington Flemish™ has an obscuration level of 1.

Flexible compound:
a type of glazing material or sealant, which remains permanently elastic, such as polysulphide or silicone sealant.

Float glass:
glass, which has been manufactured by floating the molten glass on a bed of molten tin until it sets, producing a product with surfaces which are flat and parallel. Pilkington invented this process in the 1950's. The first product became commercially available in 1959.

Florielle™

Pilkington Florielle™ is the brand name for one of the Pilkington Texture Glass™ range (see consumer leaflet Pilkington Texture Glass™) of patterned glass. Pilkington Florielle™ has an obscuration level of 5.

Flush glazing:
glazing which has no fixings or parts of the glazing system protruding beyond the outer surface (surface 1) of the glass.

Floatliner:
specially adapted lorry for carrying Jumbo sheets of glass on a stillage.

Fragments:
pieces of broken glass.

Frail:
a rack or frame for supporting or securing glass to. They are often found inside glass delivery vehicles or can be mounted outside the vehicle when they are known as a side frail.

Framed:
supported by a frame along the full length of an edge. Typical descriptions of glazing systems would be 4 edge framed or 2 edge framed.

Frameless:
nor supported by a frame on any of the edges. The alternative to framing is by using bolted connections, which could be described as structural glass. The Pilkington Planar™ range of products is an example of this type of system.

Framing system:
the type of material and the design of the frame supporting the glass. (See also glazing system).

Free path:
the distance, which a person can move directly towards a barrier. This is used as a measure of how much energy can be developed by accidental impact in order to determine the appropriate containment level for glass in the barrier. See also Technical Bulletins Glass and Safety and Glass and Building Regulations Stairs, Ramps and Barriers.

Free standing glass protective barrier :
a balustrade in which the glass performs all the mechanical functions. There are no posts or balusters; the glass is cantilevered from the floor and has a continuous handrail mounted on the top edge. See also Technical Bulletins Glass and Safety and Glass and Building Regulations Stairs, Ramps, and Barriers.

Frequency:
the rate of vibration of a sound wave in Hz (Hertz), also know as the pitch, or the rate of vibration of electromagnetic radiation, particular radio waves, usually in MHz (Mega Hertz).

Frit:
depending on the context can be:

• A term used in float glass manufacturing for the raw materials fed into the furnace.
• An alternative name for enamel.
• Some times also used to describe screen printed glass patterns.

Fritted:
glass that has had a screen printed glass pattern applied.