Don

I was really interested to hear your information about the way early laminated glass in cars deteriorated.  I suspect it was water rather than air, or at least moist air, which was the aggressive agent.

In buildings, the deterioration of laminated glass tends to manifest itself as one or the other of the following:

1)  edge delamination which manifests as a pattern of tendrils or fingers along the edge of the laminated panes ... length gradually increases over time ... is like a fringe around the edge ... have seen these up to 120mm (nearly 5") in some glass from the early 1970s

2)  crazing and clouding, particularly around the edge, but penetrating in, usually associated with water ingress to the edge of the laminated glass - this can happen within 5-10 years if the water is a big issue

The main agents of deterioration are:

plasticiser loss from the interlayer
reaction with water trapped along the edge of the glass
reaction with sealants or mastics along the edge of the glass

The interlayer manufacturers work hard to solve these problems. There are a range of interlayers, and some are more susceptible than others.  I am not an expert on laminated glass interlayers.  However, I suspect that they will always be limited by the tendency for organic compounds to interact in complex ways.  After all, we struggle enough coping with the way inorganic compounds of lime, cement, clay and stone behave.

Cheers

david