A coupled numerical and experimental approach for failure analysis of tempered glass stiffeners with pin joints

Quy-Dong To, Centre Scientifique et Technique de Bâtiment (CSTB) and Université de Marne la Vallée (UMLV)

The failure behaviour of tempered glass structures with pin-joints is studied. The problem under consideration is rather complex because of the involvement of residual stresses, unilateral contact and material nonlinear constitutive laws. In this work, an approach combining experimental tests and numerical simulations is proposed to solve this problem.

Firstly, the tempering of a holed glass sheet is analyzed using 3D finite elements with the help of MSC MARC Software. The thermo-mechanical behaviour of glass is assumed to be thermo-rheologically simple in conjunction with Narayanaswamy’s structural relaxation. In particular, the permanent residual stress field inside the holed sheet is calculated and used to find the tensile strength field of the tempered glass. The mentioned residual stress can be validated by means of photoelasticity measurement.

Next, the resin involved in the pin-joint system is experimentally investigated and a damage model is proposed for it. The material parameters characterizing the resin and involved in the damage model are experimentally identified and used in the failure analysis.

Finally, the failure behaviour of tempered glass structures with pin-joints is numerically simulated by accounting for the behaviour of the resin, the unilateral contact between the bolt and the holed plate, and the tensile strength field of the tempered glass. The failure mechanism and the failure load of the pin joint are first obtained by the numerical analysis and then validated by a real size test. The influences of the friction are also discussed.

Full text article [666 KB]