Coupled deformation behavior analysis for the glass panel in unitized hidden-frame supported glass curtain wall system

Abstract

As a kind of building envelope, glass panel has been emerging and widely employed in unitized hidden-frame supported (UHFS) glass curtain wall system in modern construction engineering. In practical service conditions, the large area of glass panels involved in the all-glass facades of UHFS glass curtain wall system usually expose to external wind loads, thus it is quite essential to focus on the coupled deformation of the glass panel caused by complex boundary constraints stemming from connected components and their interactions in UHFS glass curtain wall system. In this paper, the optical measurement system associated with the standard air-tight test chamber of UHFS glass curtain wall samples for DIC analysis of the glass panel was first established based on the theory of stereo vision and digital image correlation. Then, the conventional digital indicators and finite element analysis (FEA) models were employed to provide the actual and theoretical deformation information of the panel, which were used to demonstrate that the adopted DIC method had the unique advantage of characterizing full-field coupled deformation behavior of the glass panel affected by complicated boundary conditions. Consequently, the spatiotemporal deformation behavior of the glass panel in practical service conditions was investigated and thus the principal strain, maximum relative deflection (MRD) as well as strain energy density on the panel surface were accordingly evaluated. The above metrics could be used for failure risk evaluation and providing safety design suggestions for the glass panel in UHFS curtain wall system.