Damage Accumulation in Glass Plates

This paper examines the glass cladding damage accumulation caused by wind loading. The primary focus is the effect of the non-Gaussian nature of wind pressure fluctuations. The damage is estimated using the Monte Carlo methodology and Brown’s integral formulation. The pressure time histories are generated by a numerical procedure based on the translation model, which is calibrated on experimental data. The stress field in the glass is calculated using the von Kármán plate model. A sensitivity analysis is performed estimating the damage statistical moments, up to the fourth order, and its probability density function. The obtained results demonstrate that the classical Gaussian assumption used to model wind pressure is unsafe. The accurate modeling of the non-Gaussian features produces a significant amplification of the damage mean value and higher variability of the damage distribution.