Structural Performance of Laminated Glass Made With a Stiff Interlayer

Stephen J. Bennison

The growing demand for laminated glass in building facades and interiors is driving the development of new interlayers that extend the physical performance of laminated glass. In this contribution we discuss the structural performance of laminates made with such a new interlayer: SentryGlas(R) Plus (SGP). This new interlayer is significantly stiffer, tougher and chemically more robust than traditional PVBs and provides enhanced structural performance in many applications. The mechanical properties of a stiff interlayer lead to benefits in three main areas: 1) glass strength; 2) stiffness and creep resistance, both before and after glass breakage; 3) temperature performance. Strength benefits are realized in applications where significant bending stresses develop during loading, such as: laminates with two sided support, balustrades (cantilevers), bolted glass and laminates supported on three sides. Enhanced post glass breakage performance expands the design envelope for glass in horizontal and sloped applications such as overhead glazing, glass floors and stairs. The enhanced stiffness of fragmented laminates made with SentryGlas(R) Plus (SGP) also allows design of security glazing with ultra-high blast performance. All of these structural properties are maintained to higher temperatures as compared to conventional PVB. We review the role of interlayer properties in the aforementioned mechanical applications.

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