Historical Development and Future Prospects of Structural Silicone Sealants in China

In China, the first four-sided structurally glazed curtain wall building, the Beijing Great Wall Hotel, was constructed in 1987. Since then, glass curtain wall buildings have become popular, and it is estimated that about 5 million m2 of coated glass are fabricated and installed by way of Structural Silicone Glazing (SSG) every year. Structural silicone sealants from Dow Coming and General Electric (GE) held the largest share of China's market until 1998. China developed and decreed its own national standard GB 16776-1997 for structural silicone sealants that is comparable with ASTM C 1184 but that has more stringent requirements in terms of tensile strength and adhesion to substrates. All structural silicone sealants, whether they are manufactured domestically or overseas, are required to be approved by the Chinese government based on the GB 16776 specification, and only certified products are permitted for use in Chinese glass curtain wall engineering. There are currently eight foreign structural silicone sealants and ten domestic products approved for installation of glass curtain walls in China. This paper covers China's market, national standard, and prospects of structural silicone sealants.