All materials supplied by ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., are of the highest quality available. However uniform, consistent measures to determine the degree of that quality are required. The goal of these red on the panel) of the panel and the outer portion of the panel have different acceptance criteria.

1. Inclusions in the central portion of the panel are limited to one inclusion for each four square feet of viewing area, with no more than one inclusion in any two adjacent one square foot areas.
   (1) Inclusions whose diameter, or length, is less than .060” and do not exceed .125” in two dimensions are not considered.
   (2) Inclusions whose diameter, or length, is greater than .125” and that exceed .250” in two dimensions shall be counted.
   (3) Inclusions that penetrate the panel surface, or any whose diameter is greater than .250” and that exceed .500” in two dimensions are considered unacceptable and are cause for rejection of the viewing panel.

2. Inclusions in the outer portion of the panel are limited to one inclusion for each square foot of viewing area, with no more than two inclusions in any two adjacent one square foot areas.
   (1) Inclusions whose diameter, or length, is less than .125” and do not exceed .250” in two dimensions are not considered.
   (2) Inclusions whose diameter, or length, is greater than .125” and that exceed .250” in two dimensions shall be counted.
   (3) Inclusions that penetrate the panel surface, or any whose diameter is greater than .375” and that exceed .750” in two dimensions are considered unacceptable and are cause for rejection of the viewing panel.

3. The total number of counted inclusions allowable per panel is limited to the panel viewing area in square inches divided by 500.

4. Oversized inclusions may be removed and the panel repaired providing that all material physical property requirements, and optical performance requirements are met after completion of the repair(s).

DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Acrylic viewing panels shall meet these  dimensional  tolerances  when  measured at an ambient temperature of between 700 and 750 (f).  All viewing panel edges will be chamfered to prevent residual stress risers and possible damage during shipping and/or installation. The chamfer may be either a radius or angle cut approximately .060” per inch of panel thickness, up to a 1/2” maximum.

1. Flat panels shall meet these requirements:
   a. Panel thickness as measure at any location on the panel shall be within +15%/-5% of the calculated minimum wall thickness.
   b. Panel length and width/height shall be within +/-.250” of the specified nominal dimension.
   c. Panel flatness shall be within 1% of the length of the panel, as measured from corner-to-corner of the unrestrained panel, laying on a flat surface.
   d. Panel warp and twist when measured three corners relative to the fourth of the unrestrained panel, laying on a flat supporting surface shall be square and/or perpendicular to, within 0.5% of the specified dimension.]

2. Curved panels,  including tunnel sections, shall meet these requirements:
   a. Panel thickness as measure at any location on the panel shall be within +15%/-5% of the calculated minimum wall thickness.
   b. Panel arc and cord lengths, as well as the width, shall be within +/-.250” of the specified nominal dimension.
   c. Panel curvature shall be within .250” of the specified arc, both curve and radius.

3. Angled panels and panel assemblies, whether thermal formed or chemically bonded together, shall meet these requirements:
   a. Panel thickness as measure at any location on the panel shall be within +15%/-5% of the calculated minimum wall thickness.
   b. Each panel sections length and width/height shall be within +/-.250” of the specified nominal dimension. The total window assembly  length, as well as the width, shall be within +/-.375” of the specified nominal dimension.
   c. Panel angles shall be within +/-3% of the specified angle, as measured of the unrestrained panel standing on edge.

BOND JOINT REQUIREMENTS:

Standard Grade: Chemical bond joint for fabrication of  oversized panels and/or panel assemblies, where visual requirements of the bond joint are not a consideration.

Bond joint must be structurally sound, with a minimum safety factor of 10 based on ACRYLIC  VIEWING PANEL  SPECIFICATIONS.

All materials supplied by ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., are of the highest quality available. However uniform, consistent measures to determine the degree of that quality are required. The goal of these specifications is to add clarity to those areas which are subjective, ambiguous, and/or not defined elsewhere.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

All acrylic viewing panels produced by ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., are fabricated from sheets of commercial grade polymethyl methacrylate, hereafter referred to as acrylic. These panels may be produced by either the cell cast or slurry cast/autoclave methods.

All viewing panels shall be engineered and fabricated to withstand the designed water loads, thermal movement, and deflection criteria specified without failure of  the viewing panel to perform it’s function. 

All acrylic viewing panels fabricated by ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., shall meet, or exceed, all of the minimum physical values detailed in ASME PVHO-1-(year), Table 2-3.1, and the corresponding ASTM specification(s).

DESIGN CRITERIA:

Acrylic viewing panels fabricated and installed by ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., shall be engineered to ensure a minimum safety factor of 12, based on the following:

1. Minimum tensile strength of 9,000 psi.

2. Maximum allowable long term stress of 1,000 psi.

Chemically joined (Bonded) acrylic viewing panels shall have a minimum safety factor of 12 based on the following:

1. Minimum tensile strength of 6,400 psi in the chemical bond joint itself.

2. Maximum allowable long term stress of 700 psi.

Acrylic viewing panels shall have a maximum initial deflection based on the following:

1. Maximum initial deflection of no more than 1/200 of  the panels short dimension, for panels supported on all four sides.

2. Maximum initial deflection of no more than 1/300 of  the panels long dimension, for panels supported on three sides only (top edge unsupported).

3. Maximum initial deflection of no more than 1/400 of  the panels short dimension, for panels supported at the top and bottom only.

4. Maximum initial deflection of no more than 1/500 of  the panel long dimension for bonded assemblies. 

OPTICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Acrylic viewing panels shall be virtually free of haze, distortions, or inclusions, which significantly diminish the viewing quality of the window.

1. Haze may be some form of contamination trapped within the panel(s) or polymer particulate resulting from incomplete polymerization. Either condition, if visible from a distance of more than 48” from, and perpendicular to the panels face is unacceptable and is cause for rejection of the aquarium tank.

2. Distortions are surface irregularities in the form of bumps, dimples, ridges, or waviness. A performance inspection utilizing a grid board and lights will be conducted to determine viewing panel acceptability. The procedure for this inspection is detailed in ADVANCED ACRYLIC DISPLAY & SUPPLY, INC., “Optical performance inspection” procedures.

3. Inclusions may be a piece of dirt, a stone, a grain of sand, a bubble or any foreign material trapped within the panel itself. In inspecting a panel, the central portion (an area equal to approximately 66% of the total panel viewing area, centeLaminators Safety Glass Association Standard Manual, ANSI/ll glassodulus of Rupture in flexure for a 60 second load duration: mean 24 2 

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