The Influence of Various Support Conditions on the Structural Behaviour of Laminated Glass

Holger Gräf, Christian Schuler, Gert Albrecht, Ömer Bucak

The structural behaviour of laminated safety glass depends not only on the shear modulus of the PVB-interlayer but also on the stiffness of the glass member and the support conditions. Various tests were carried out with twosides and four-sides supported glass specimens as well as point supported and partly clamped constructions. Strain measurements at the glass surface and also between glass ply and PVBinterlayer were used to determine the shear transfer at different positions of the specimens (close to holes and bearings and in the mid-sections). The test results which are verified with finite element calculations show that the composite action of laminated glass varies. While in the mid-sections of a
glass beam or plate the behaviour of the laminate might reach or even exceed the strength of an equivalent monolithic glass plate, the behaviour near the bearings is closer to the layered limit.

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