© 2020 Xihong Zhang, Qingfei Meng, Chiara Bedon and Piotr W. Sielicki. This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 3.0 license. International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research Original Research Paper Strengthening of Laminated Glass Windows against Windborne Debris Impact 1 Xihong Zhang, 2* Qingfei Meng, 3 Chiara Bedon and 4 Piotr W. Sielicki 1 Centre for Infrastructure Monitoring and Protection, School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Australia 2 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia 3 Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy 4 Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland Article history Received: 08-09-2020 Revised: 27-10-2020 Accepted: 29-10-2020 Corresponding Author: Qingfei Meng School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Email: [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents numerical modelling to study potential mitigation methods to improve the impact resistance performance of laminated glass windows against timber windborne debris impact. A detailed numerical model of laminated glass window is generated and validated with laboratory impact tests. The influence of supporting frames made of different stiffness materials is examined. Numerical simulation shows that boundary condition has limited influence to the penetration resistance of laminated glass windows. Then, the dynamic response of doubly laminated glass windows of the same total thickness as that of singly laminated glass windows is studied, which finds that optimization of glass and interlayer layout could effectively improve the penetration resistance of laminated glass windows. Keywords: Laminated Glass, Windborne Debris, Impact, Mitigation Introduction In cyclone-prone regions, windborne debris impact poses a major threat to structure and personnel safety in the wake of cyclone incidents. Comparing with other structural elements, glass windows is a most fragile component of the entire structure envelop which therefore needs to be specially designed against debris impact (Fig. 1). Post-investigation on hurricanes in Houston, Texas, USA (Beason, 1974; Beason and Morgan, 1984) reported large scale window failures that were contributed to windborne debris. The penetration and failure of glass windows in cyclone events has also been cited as one of the reasons leading to the overturn and collapse of low-rise residential buildings. After 1974 Cyclone Tracy in Darwin, Australia researchers found that windborne debris contributed to large-scale damage to structure (Walker, 1991). As illustrated in Fig. 2, fractured glass windows by windborne debris impact creates an opening in the structure envelop, which results in the internal wind pressure to quickly increase and double the wind load acting on the roof and surrounding walls. Moreover, occupants inside buildings are also under the threats of flying glass shards from the broken windows according to the post-investigation after cyclone events. Therefore, a study on the response and mitigation of glass windows/façade against windborne debris impact is an important and necessary topic for the protection of structures and personnel safety particularly for cyclone-prone regions. Fig. 1: Damage of laminated glass windows under windborne debris impact
Strengthening of Laminated Glass Windows against Windborne Debris Impact
Jun 15, 2023
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