Context

A circular-economy approach seeks to extend the service life of resources and products by moving beyond traditional recycling towards reuse and remanufacturing. In architectural glass construction, this means dismantling glazing units, separating their components, cleaning them and upgrading them to new products. Recovered aged flat glass has already been used as a feedstock for laminated glass and insulating glazing units. However, the interaction of aged glass surfaces with new processing components — such as silicone sealants, polymer interlayers and metal coatings — has not been thoroughly investigated. Ageing phenomena such as changes in surface topography, chemical alterations, corrosion, surface damage and contamination occur due to exposure to weather cycles, UV radiation and mechanical loading throughout the glass’s service life. These changes may affect adhesion, durability and overall performance of new products manufactured from reclaimed glass. The aim of this thesis is to analyse these ageing mechanisms systematically and to assess their influence on the remanufacturing processes for aged float glass.

Possible topics for the thesis could include:

- Literature research on aging mechanisms of float glass

- Experiments on surface roughness

- Investigation of chemical changes on the glass surface

- Compatibility tests Evaluation of interactions between aged glass and finishing components

- Derivation of recommendations for action for the further processing of aged glazing and its integration into the circular economy

Languages: english or german