Containment Glazing, Polycarbonate Laminate

Containment glazing is laminated polycarbonate built to resist sustained physical attack with tools and to stop things being passed through it. It is the detention and secure-facility product - cell and corridor vision panels, secure interview and visitation glazing, holding and transfer areas, and anywhere forced entry or contraband transfer is the threat rather than gunfire.

On naming: "corrections grade" and "security grade" are not defined industry terms and no standard uses them, so this listing is written against the standards that do exist. ASTM F1233 is the security glazing test method. It covers forced entry with blunt and sharp hand tools, thermal attack and chemical attack - and, separately, ballistic attack - and it judges each by two failure criteria: contraband passage, which fails if a 1/8 inch diameter solid can pass, and body passage, which fails if an 8 by 8 by 5 inch uncompressible object can pass. ASTM F1915 is the detention-facility glazing standard; it evaluates performance under assault with blunt and sharp impact tools, defining attacks by tool, temperature, technique, time and number of impacts, and it sets four security grades matching ASTM F1450. It also covers fire and hot and cold performance, and it explicitly excludes ballistics, chemical agents and explosives.

So a product carries only what it was tested for, and the two standards do not divide the way the names suggest. F1915 is tool attack and excludes ballistics outright. F1233 has both a forced-entry side and a ballistic side, so an F1233 class on its own tells you nothing about ballistic performance unless the ballistic category is stated with it. Tell us the ASTM F1233 class or F1915 grade your specification calls for and we will supply against the certified construction and give you the certificate. As with any rated glazing, the panel performs as rated only in a tested frame and glazing system.

Chemical compatibility and cleaning, which is where most polycarbonate failures start. Clean it with mild diluted dish soap and a soft microfibre cloth, or an ammonia-free glass cleaner. Do NOT use ammoniated glass cleaner - the common blue kind - because ammonia attacks polycarbonate, and the resin maker's own testing shows 0.1% ammonia is enough to do damage in the presence of water. Also avoid abrasive or high-alkaline cleaners, scrapers and squeegees, dry rubbing, and solvent in direct sun. Isopropyl alcohol diluted 50/50 with water handles oil and tar. Acetone, MEK, methylene chloride, chloroform, toluene, xylene and aromatic fuels all attack it, and so do amines and the plasticisers that migrate out of flexible PVC - which is why PVC gasket, tape and cable tie contact is a real failure mode. The important subtlety is that chemical resistance is not a fixed property: stress cracking only develops where the part is in tension, so a cold-bent, over-torqued or tightly framed part will fail with chemicals a compatibility chart calls safe.