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Imploding Window: Will it happen to you?
Source Post: http://www.replacement-windows.com/windowbb/viewtopic.php?p=4429Imploding windows is a real phenomenon. It does happen, although it is not particulary common.
Exactly as FenEx stated, the argon can dissipate through the seal (this is particulary evident when using organic seals or polysulfides, for example), but it is also quite possible that the physical mechanism that causes argon dissipation may not allow outside air molecules back into the IGU at the same time.
As Geoff stated, everything in nature wants to reach equilibrium, and with the environment inside the IGU containing an amount of argon greater than 1% and the environment outside the IGU containing less than 1% argon, then that argon inside the IGU and outside the IGU have a real desperate need to become equal.
(and btw, as an aside, scientists recently determined that they were wrong about how much argon is in the atmosphere..."Old measurements dating from as early as 1903 gave the content (moles of argon/mole of dry air) as 0.934 %. The most recent value available until now was lower (0.917 %) and was thought to supersede the previous result. The work reported in Metrologia gives a new figure (0.9332 ± 0.0006)%, very close to the measurement results of 100 years ago. The uncertainty in the new measurement is given at the 95% confidence limit and is of unprecedented accuracy." - Rolling Eyes - I borrowed that from a scientific paper).
The result is an IGU that can actually form something of a vacuum between the lites as the internal argon migrates thru the seal.
In many cases, the argon will never be missed - in the sense that there will be no particulary obvious change in the appearance of the unit. But, it is also possible for the glass to begin to become concave and for the two lites to "bow" into the center of the IGU. This bowing is usually related to the window size and aspect and also it can be related to the particular environment where the window is beiong used.
In extreme cases, the glass can shatter because of the stress of this bowing - or implode - which is the term most often used for this issue.
Source Post: Imploding Argon windows?
http://www.replacement-windows.com/windowbb/viewtopic.php?p=4429
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:55 am