Physics of glass & acrylic

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Andyroo

Andyroo

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2011
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MoBay, Jamaica
www.seascapecarib.com
My Yodas,
So, much of the structural issue with acrylic and glass is bowing (to eventually break) against water weight, thus we use top and internal joint bracings etc...

To prefab a welded L-bar (steel) window-frame of exact internal dimensions, then epoxy the pane into the steel at all contact points (within the notch of the L-bar) so it held the pane in place and taught could I use a thinner pane?

Curious.
A
 
A steel frame like you are describing certainly would help, especially with a long tank. However, the height of the tank is what primarily determines the necessary glass thickness (length of the pane does play in, but not as much so as height) so I'm not sure how much thinner glass you could use.

Not real helpful, but that's my two cents...
 
Just my pointless two cents my bowing is in the center of the panel not the tops or sides so think of it like a sheet of paper bent horizontally and not vertically. So I would think that the frame wouldn't help in my case.
 
The steel frame would be all the way around, all four sides, and the panel bonded to it all around like a drum-skin. The panel would be tensioned within the rigid frame once water pressure was/is applied. What the frame would be doing is spreading the forces much more evenly around the panel.
There would need to be stretching to the panel before any bowing could happen, thus a thinner sheet should be necessary... yes?
A
 
Not sure if this will help but two points i'll throw out.

*Acrylic is around 17 times stronger (resistant to breaking) then glass, however glass is much stiffer (resistant to bending)

* I have a 125 gallon tank that lost it middle top support and bowed a lot so i used 100% pure silicone to attach a 12" wide piece of glass from the front pane to the back pane let it cure a full 7 days, no more bowing.
 
Using a steal support would be about the same as any other method for bracing the tank. I have no issues with the seams bowing on my big tank, it bulges out in the center. It should be about the same.
The risk is on you to go thinner than recommended.
 
even if you were able to Secure the outer edges keeping it from bowing. I still think that it would be to much stress for what ever window material and it would find a way to bow if its to thin. You won't find a tank frame much stronger then in some plywood builds but even they still have to stick to the recommended thickness. Also using a thinner glass or acrylic would cause there to be consent strain on your outer joints so if one day that seal gave at all your window could be toast.
 
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