The latest news from American Glass Research.

Would you like the ability to examine these fragments and be capable of:

• Recognizing the type of load for this breakage?
• Identifying the individual fragments that contain the fracture origin?
• Determining the type of flaw at the fracture origin?
• Concluding if the cause was load magnitude or flaw severity?
• Understanding how to avoid similar breakage in the future?

The legacy of AGR founder lives on in Community Park and White Papers.

Dr. Frank Preston, who founded AGR in 1927 as a venture dedicated to the pursuit of understanding the response of glass to external forces, left behind many treasures. Most notable among them are a Community Park, located on the site of the original testing laboratories and a vast library of Published Papers that are being re-released to the public. Both stand as lasting tributes to his legacy.

Preston Park has enjoyed glowing reviews for its combination of historical significance and idyllic natural landscape and was the setting for the accompanying photo, captured by AGR employee, Karen Link.  The photograph, entitled “Among the Grasses” captures wet lily-of-the valley blooms within the wild grass section of the park. It was featured in the March/April 2016 issue of Pennsylvania Magazine.

As part of our continuing, historic legacy series, another Dr. Preston paper is being made available through our website. The paper, entitled “Bottle Breakage – Causes and Types of Fractures”, was published in 1939 but remains very much relevant today as it documents the findings of Dr. Preston and his team of researchers in their search to uncover the fundamentals of fracture diagnosis.  The 26-page paper was originally published in the Bulletin of the American Ceramic Society and contains a wealth of information. It remains an ideal primer for anyone trying to develop an understanding of the underlying principles of Bottle Breakage.

The paper places Dr. Preston’s thirst for the development of knowledge on full display.  It also showcases the wonder this knowledge can illicit through observations such as,  ”in most cases of breakage, the complete fracturing of the bottle takes place in something like one-thousandth part of a second”. You can accompany Dr. Preston on this journey of discovery by reading this recently posted document on our website.  Visit the White Paper Library to download it.

Did you know...

Syringes exhibit significantly different defect types and breakage patterns. They also are subjected to differing problematic conditions than observed for other pharmaceutical glassware, such as vials. These differences can be attributed to their unique shape, alternative manufacturing methods and the specialized nature of their usage conditions.

Nevertheless, a combination of fracture analysis skills and a thorough understanding of the manufacturing process, filling process, and usage conditions, will provide a wealth of information that allows for the identification of the root cause of the breakage. In the majority of cases it is possible to distinguish between breakage that results from glass manufacturing conditions, filling line issues, or even those due to subsequent usage.

Understanding the differences associated with syringes (and cartridges or pens) ensures that the results of your fracture analysis will be valuable. Want to learn more about pharmaceutical breakage issues? Attend our Seminar “Testing and Fracture Diagnosis of Pharmaceutical Glassware”  this Fall in Butler, PA Sep 27^th-29^th or Munich, Germany Oct 24^th-26^th.

Training