Exploring the science of glass breakage, strength, stress and repair

A pioneering collaboration between the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and Belron® advances research into automotive glass.

Professor Kelvin Donne and Jordan Jenkins at the Wales Automotive Glass Research Centre, a ballistics laboratory commissioned by Belron®, hosted a delegation of Carglass®  Germany executives and journalists from Germany to view the facilities and to learn about breakthrough research into automotive glass which drives innovation in the field and, ultimately, benefits consumers worldwide.

The Centre, which is based the University’s SA1 Swansea Waterfront campus, is used to investigate impact damage when road stones hit vehicle windscreens as well as factors affecting windscreen damage, such as ambient temperature, heating the screen on cold mornings, cooling the screen on hot days and variation in road stone types and impact speeds/angles as well as why stone chips are formed and what makes them crack over time. 

“Our facility is unique in Europe”, said Professor Kelvin Donne, whose association with Belron® started over 30 years ago.  “We conduct experimental research on windscreens within a temperature-controlled target chamber capable of cycling between sub-zero temperatures as low as −10 °C up to temperatures as high as 50 °C. This means that we can provide unparalleled insights into the behaviour of automotive glass under various environmental conditions.”

During the visit the delegation from German met UWTSD’s research team and academic staff as alongside executives from Carglass® Germany and its parent company Belron® to learn about the research and its commercial application.  They also had hands-on sessions within the ballistics laboratory which brought the science to life and toured the University’s facilities which included the Automotive and Motorsport workshops and F1 simulator. 

Dr Chris Davies, Head of Technical Research & Innovation Belron®  Technical & Operations and a Professor of Practice at UWTSD commented: 

“Belron® continues to rely on the unique facilities and expertise of UWTSD in its quest to know everything about glass damage creation and what makes a stone chip grow and get worse over time.  This knowledge ensures that Belron® and its brands like Carglass® continue to deliver a world class chip repair service for its customers.”

Alongside the experimental facility, Professor Donne has developed complex computational models of the high-speed impact problem and the subsequent crack-off of the initial ‘chip.’ The simulation work is calibrated against experimental results obtained from the ballistics lab, ensuring accuracy and reliability in the research findings.

Professor Donne added: “The partnership between UWTSD and Belron® demonstrates a mutual commitment to advancing automotive glass technology and safety standards for car manufacturers and drivers world-wide.” 

Further Information

Eleri Beynon

Head
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: e.beynon@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 01267 676790

Notes to Editor

• In addition to supporting Belron®, the Wales Automotive Glass Research Centre has conducted contract research for international clients, including Corning (US) and AGC (Europe). 
• With operations in 42 countries across six continents and around 30,000 employees, Belron is one of the world’s leading vehicle glass repair, replacement and recalibration groups. In 2025, it completed 17.1 million jobs for its customers and is the parent company of Carglass Germany and Autoglass Ltd in the UK.