ASTM, NFRC Working Through Numerous Updates and Initiatives

The Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) 2022 Virtual Summer Conference on Tuesday, June 7, highlighted updates to industry organizations and standards, including upcoming initiatives for ASTM International and the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC).

Amy Roberts, director of Canadian and Technical Glass Operations, Richard Rinka, FGIA technical manager for Fenestration Standards and U.S. Industry Affairs, and certification services manager Jason Seals during the Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) 2022 Virtual Summer Conference on Tuesday, June 7.

Amy Roberts, director of Canadian and Technical Glass Operations, discussed ASTM International’s recent C14 committee on glass and glass products meeting. ASTM’s subcommittee on nomenclatures and definitions started a work group to create a glass products terminology document. That subcommittee has already reviewed all standards within nomenclatures and definitions. Roberts says the goal is to have the ballot out by the end of 2022.

“Their goal is to harmonize and consolidate throughout North America,” Roberts says.

The ASTM flat glass subcommittee is updating existing standards, including specifications for pyrolytic and vacuum deposition coatings on flat glass. A standard specification for bent glass was also approved in September 2021.

The flat glass subcommittee created a task group to review negatives for the center punched fragmentation of fully tempered glass test method. Roberts says the standard test method for bird collision deterrents was renamed to tunnel testing of transparent glazing material using binomial choice protocol for fly-through bird deterrence. A draft is scheduled to go to ballot in June 2022.

Standards requiring review for the flat glass subcommittee include specifications for architectural flat glass-clad polycarbonate, for heat-strengthened and fully tempered flat glass and for silver flat glass mirrors. The subcommittee also created a new task group to review the standard test method for compatibility for laminated interlayer and sealant.

The ASTM committee on building performance met in Seattle at the end of April. The sealed insulated glass subcommittee is currently focusing on UV, fog viewing, internal components and a cooling plate description.

“They’re making very good progress, and more task group meetings have been scheduled for June,” Roberts says.

The subcommittee on glass use in buildings reviewed two documents at the recent meeting. The first document deals with a practice for determining the load resistance of glass in buildings, while the second focuses on a practice for determining glass thickness in air traffic control tower cabs. The subcommittee is also working on two new standards, one for structural glass in buildings and another for the performance of laminated glass for aquariums and pools.

Richard Rinka, FGIA technical manager for Fenestration Standards and U.S. Industry Affairs, says the ASTM subcommittee on the performance of windows, doors, skylights and curtainwalls is responsible for many of the documents that are of primary importance for FGIA. From structural loads to air leakage, task groups are working through a number of draft documents.

Jason Seals, certification services manager, also updated attendees on the NFRC. He says FenStar Verification Testing is running smoothly with test units in progress. They are expected to transition to an “at the lab” status shortly, Seals says. All testing should be done by the end of September 2022. NFRC also developed simulation methodology for the Linear Energy Analysis for Fenestration.

“It’s going to, hopefully, replace the need for a lot of simulations for many manufacturers,” Seals says of the program. The program generates a trend line that is then used to determine thermal performance characteristics. “It also includes a new condensation index methodology, which is projected to be much more accurate than the three other methodologies we have out there right now.”

NFRC also developed a new certification program for commercial fenestration, Seals says. The program entails a product directory path for products used on multiple projects and a second path used for custom products. There is a soft-launch date of 2024 for implementation.

The FGIA 2022 Virtual Summer Conference continues through Thursday, June 9.