Glass & Ceramics

At Hawkins we have investigated numerous personal injury claims involving glass, from bottles cracking and exploding, to injury caused by fractured glass tables. In the last twenty years architectural glass has become more and more popular. Whilst such glass can be visually striking, it can be very costly if it breaks, particularly because the logistical challenges of doing so, can far outweigh the cost of the glass itself.

We have examined numerous glass fractures with causes such as building movement, thermal bridging issues, edge defect weakening ‘bulletproof’ glass and inclusions.

Inclusions are a common cause of glass fracture that we investigate.  Inclusions are incorporated into the glass structure during manufacture and can be identified at the manufacturing stage if the glass is put through additional heat soaking stages. However, there is currently no requirement to carry out these steps and as such inclusion bearing glasses are regularly sold to market. The most common type of inclusion is known as nickel sulphide (NiS), however, these are by no means the only type and detailed examination is required to categorically prove the identity of any such inclusion. Thermally toughened glasses are the most susceptible to such inclusions (due to the stress state the glass is in) and they can fail catastrophically (generally into small cubic or rhombohedral pieces). This can prove problematic if the glass is not laminated; fragments of glass can ‘rain down’ to the ground below. Every glass fracture case is unique and Hawkins can provide an in-depth examination to ascertain the precise cause of fracture and provide guidance to prevent further issues.

Ceramics are often considered alongside glass, and indeed glass can be considered as a type of ceramic. In a similar way to glass, ceramics can be utilised in a huge range of applications from the mundane to refractory materials, electrical appliances, bio-applications, turbine engines and storage of nuclear waste to name but a few. Ceramics are, generally speaking, brittle and can fracture for numerous reasons. Each case is unique and will require in-depth analysis to understand the fracture mechanism(s) and cause for any such failure. Hawkins has investigated fractures of ceramics utilised in many applications such as drinking mugs, industrial bio-mass boilers, refractory bricks and insulators for railway use.

Our experts can help provide insight into material selection and testing, failure analysis, as well as a thorough understanding of the relevant guidance and standards that have, or should have, been used.