Testing All-Glass Glazings to the European EN 1063 Ballistic Standards

Testing Glazing to the European EN 1063 Ballistic Standard

In order for Close Focus Research to assist you effectively with Ballistic Testing of your EN1063 type glazings, you should be aware of the following EN1063 Designations:

Are you planning to offer either the EN1063 (NS) "No spall" type or EN1063 (S) "Spall Acceptable" type glazings?

EN1063 (NS) "No spall" type glazings that utilize either All-Glass or Glass / Polycarbonate with glass face plys will be substantially thicker and heavier than Glass / Polycarbonate glazings with Polycarbonate face plys. The optimum EN1063 (NS) "No spall" type products would be Glass / Polycarbonate glazings with Polycarbonate face plys. These glazings are thinner and lightest than Glass face ply type glazings.

• All-Glass glazings - EN1063 (NS) or EN1063 (S)
• Glass / Polycarbonate glazing with glass face plys - EN1063 (NS) or EN1063 (S)
• Glass / Polycarbonate glazing with Polycarbonate face plys - EN1063 (NS)

Below are the Designations specified in the European EN 1063 Standard Document:

No perforation of the glazing by the bullet or parts of the bullet and no perforation of the witness foil by glass splinters from the rear face. This type of bullet-resistant glazing shall be classified in the appropriate class with the additional mark: "NS" (no splinters).

No perforation of the glazing by the bullet or parts of the bullet, but with perforation of the witness foil by glass splinters from the protected face. This type of bullet-resistant glazing shall be classified in the appropriate class with the additional mark: "S" ("splinters").

Testing All-Glass Glazings to the European EN 1063 Ballistic Standards
Keep in mind that the witness plate used to determine spall failure for the EN1063 Standard is 0.0008 inch thick Aluminum foil. The ballistic test specifications can be found here: European EN 1063 Ballistic Standards

The purpose of the EN1063 standard is to basically qualify non-spall type products. Although the EN1063 standard also has a NS (No Spall or No Splinter) designation rating, it is generally used to rate No Spall (NS) type products. The EN1063 was developed years after the NIJ and UL752 standards were introduced in an attempt to be more stringent against spall type products, therefore ending up qualifying mostly non-spall or micro-spall type products.

If you are developing a no spall type product such as an All-glass or Glass / Polycarbonate glazing that utilize glass face plys, you may want to consider qualifying it under a recognized ballistic standard who witness plate is more resistant to spall, such as the UL752 or NIJ standard. For example, the UL752 utilizes an 0.125 in. thick corrugated cardboard witness plate and the NIJ standard utilizes a 0.0200 thick aluminum foil witness plate, which is 25 times thicker than the EN1063 's witness plate.