In layman’s terms, SL14 is the thickness of half a credit card. SL09 is about 1/3rd as thick. Both are optically clear.
ACE’s 300 Series SL14 has a break strength when applied to glass of 350 psi compared to 225 psi for 200 Series SL09. Subsequently, ACE 300 Series SL14 is 50% stronger than ACE 200 Series SL09.
In layman’s terms, this means two things.
- In terms of impact resistance, a relatively fit man capable of hitting a window with a baseball bat would have to hit a 5’ x 5’ window an estimated 15 times before breaching the window. The same person would be able to breach these windows treated with SL09 in half as many attempts. This is a very unscientific and non-standardized way of describing impact resistance but it is a fairly practical example and comparison. Of course, in real life, the strength of the attacker and the weapon used would be primary factors determining how long it would take for a treated window to be breached.
- Regarding bomb blasts, both ACE 200 Series SL09 and 300 Series SL14 have been tested against bomb blasts and explosive devices. For windows on a first floor of a building, a wave from a bomb blast would hit the windows at a 90% angle which means the windows would receive the full impact of the blast wave. Windows on second and third floors of the same building would be hit with the blast wave at an angle and the impact of the wave would have a greater chance of being deflected. This is another practical example of how SL14 and SL09 could be used in different ways to protect a building against a bomb blast.