Behavior and Failure Strength of Laminated Glass Beams
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 133, Issue 12
Abstract
Despite the increased use of laminated glass (two monolithic layers of glass joined with an elastomeric interlayer—usually PVB—to form a unit) as a cladding material for architectural glazing applications and by now as a structural material, the mechanical properties and the structural capabilities of PVB laminated glass are not well known. This paper presents an analytical model that predicts stress development and ultimate strength of laminated glass beams involving a multilayered system that allows displacements in the shear flexible interlayer. The model may be applied to laminates of arbitrary shape and size under prevailing uniaxial bending. No specific simplifying assumption is made in formulating the procedure, so the modeling inaccuracy is marginal, as proved by comparing theoretical model predictions with test results. The model was then used for assessing the safety and predicting the failure strength of laminated glass products available in the architectural glass marketplace, in order to identify the basis for rational design with glass-polymer laminates. The closed form of the model permits us to both explain the behavior of laminated glass, and correlate the structural performance with the geometrical and mechanical parameters.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is part of a project that has received financial support from the Italian Ministry of Instruction of University and of Research (MIUR), under the provision for the Program of Scientific Research of Relevant Interest for the Nation (PRIN 2005)MIUR.
References
Bažant, Z. P., and Beghini, A. (2004). “Sandwich buckling formulas and applicability of standard computational algorithm for finite strain.” Composites, Part B, 35, 573–581.
Behr, R. A., Minor, J. E., Linden, M. P., and Vallabhan, C. V. G. (1985). “Laminated glass units under uniform lateral pressure.” J. Struct. Eng., 111(5), 1037–1050.
Behr, R. A., Minor, J. E., and Norville, H. S. (1993). “Structural behavior of architectural laminated glass.” J. Struct. Eng., 119(1), 202–222.
Benninson, S. J., Jagota, A., and Smith, C. A. (1999). “Fracture of glass/poly(vinyl butyral) laminates in biaxial flexure.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 82(7), 1761–1770.
Billmajer, F. W., Jr. (1962). Textbook of polymer science, Interscience Publishers, Wiley, New York.
Dhaliwal, A. K., and Hay, J. N. (2002). “The characterization of polyvinyl butyral by thermal analysis.” Thermochim. Acta, 391(1–2), 245–255.
Griffith, A. A. (1920). “The phenomena of rupture and flaw in solids.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, CCXXI(A587), 163–179.
Ivanov, I. V. (2006). “Analysis, modelling, and optimization of laminated glasses as plane beam.” Int. J. Solids Struct., 43, 6,887–6,907.
Minor, J. E., and Reznik, P. L. (1990). “Failure strengths of laminated glass.” J. Struct. Eng., 116(4), 1030–1039.
Nagalla, S. R., Vallabhan, C. V. G., Minor, J. E., and Norville, H. S. (1985). “Stresses in layered glass units and monolithic glass plates.” NTIS Accession No. PB86-142015/AS, Glass Research and Testing Laboratory, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, Tex.
Norville, H. S. (1997). “The effect of interlayer thickness on laminated glass strength.” Proc., Glass Processing Days, 583–589.
Norville, H. S., Bove, P. M., Sheridan, D., and Lawrence, S. (1993). “The strength of heat treated windows glass lites and laminated glass units.” J. Struct. Eng., 119(3), 891–901.
Norville, H. S., King, K. W, and Swofford, J. L. (1998). “Behavior and strength of laminated glass.” J. Eng. Mech., 124(1), 46–53.
Reed, D. A., and Fuller, E. R. (1984). “Glass strength degradation under fluctuating loads.” J. Struct. Eng., 111(7), 1460–1467.
Sheridan, D. L., Norville, H. S., and Bove, P. M. (1991). “Laminated glass beams under uniform lateral pressure.” Report, Glass Research and Testing Laboratory, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, Tex.
Vallabhan, C. V. G., Das, Y. C., Magdi, M., Asik, M., and Bailey, J. R. (1993). “Analysis of laminated glass units.” J. Struct. Eng., 119(5), 1572–1585.
Vallabhan, C. V. G., Minor, J. E., and Nagalla, S. R. (1987). “Stress in layered glass units and monolithic glass plates.” J. Struct. Eng., 113(1), 36–43.
Vallabhan, C. V. G., Wang, B. Y.-T., Chou, G. D., and Minor, J. E. (1985). “Thin glass plates on elastic supports.” J. Struct. Eng., 111(11), 2416–2426.
Van Duser, A., Jagota, A., and Bennison, S. J. (1999). “Analysis of glass/polyvinyl butyral (butacite) laminates subjected to uniform pressure.” J. Eng. Mech., 125(4), 435–442.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: May 23, 2006
Accepted: Jun 18, 2007
Published online: Dec 1, 2007
Published in print: Dec 2007
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: George Z. Voyiadjis
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.