Performance of structural glass facades under extreme loads – Design methods, existing research, current issues and trends

Laminated glass is a simple sandwiched composite structure, while being widely used in the automotive industry as windshield glazings. It is considered to be safety glass due to its excellent performance in absorbing impact energy and bonding glass fragments. Meanwhile, the impact failure patterns of an automotive windshield glazing contribute to the traffic accident reconstruction. In recent decades, a growing interest has been devoted to the impact failure analysis of automotive laminated glass by means of numerical simulations. The purpose of this work is to present a comprehensive review concerning this aspect. We start by introducing six numerical algorithms for the modeling of the principal damage pattern, glass-ply cracking, followed by the introduction of material models for the plastic interlayer, PVB, and then address three numerical techniques for the adhesion modeling. Three kinds of laminated glass models are summarized. Finally, the performance of the numerical algorithms on the impact failure analysis of laminated glass in terms of glass-ply cracking and acceleration history is thoroughly discussed.

Numerical analysis of impact failure of automotive laminated glass: A review

A non-ordinary state-based peridynamics modeling of fractures in quasi-brittle materials

Finite element modelling of impact damage in polyvinyl butyral laminated glass

Polymeric interlayer materials for laminated glass: A review

Failure analysis of laminated glass panels subjected to blast loads

This paper presents a rigorous and a reliable analytical procedure using finite element (FE) techniques to study the blast response of laminated glass (LG) panel and predict the failure of its components. The 1st principal stress (σ11) is used as the failure criterion for glass and the von mises stress (σv) is used for the interlayer and sealant joints. The results from the FE analysis for mid-span deflection, energy absorption and the stresses at critical locations of glass, interlayer and structural sealant are presented in the paper. These results compared well with those obtained from a free field blast test reported in the literature. The tensile strength (T) of the glass has a significant influence on the behaviour of the LG panel and should be treated carefully in the analysis. The glass panes absorb about 80% of the blast energy for the treated blast load and this should be minimised in the design.

This paper presents a comprehensive numerical procedure to treat the blast response of laminated glass (LG) panels and studies the influence of important material parameters. Post-crack behaviour of the LG panel and the contribution of the interlayer towards blast resistance are treated. Modelling techniques are validated by comparing with existing experimental results. Findings indicate that the tensile strength of glass considerably influences the blast response of LG panels while the interlayer material properties have a major impact on the response under higher blast loads. Initially, glass panes absorb most of the blast energy, but after the glass breaks, interlayer deforms further and absorbs most of the blast energy. LG panels should be designed to fail by tearing of the interlayer rather than failure at the supports to achieve a desired level of protection. From this aspect, material properties of glass, interlayer and sealant joints play important roles, but unfortunately they are not accounted for in the current design standards. The new information generated in this paper will enhance the capabilities of engineers to better design LG panels under blast loads and use better materials to improve the blast response of LG panels.

H.D. Hidallana-Gamage

Papers

Failure analysis of laminated glass panels subjected to blast loads

Failure analysis of laminated glass panels subjected to blast loads

Numerical modelling and analysis of the blast performance of laminated glass panels and the influence of material parameters

Numerical modelling and analysis of the blast performance of laminated glass panels and the influence of material parameters

Influence of interlayer properties on the blast performance of laminated glass panels