GFRP reinforced high performance glass–bolted joints: Concept and experimental characterisation

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the use of externally-bonded Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) strips as a means of improving the load capacity and delayed failure characteristics of glass-bolted joints. The peak load and the failure behaviour of GFRP reinforced bolted joints in annealed, heat-strengthened and tempered glass were investigated using the experiments of double-lap tension joint configurations. The results were compared with that of reference unreinforced joints, and bolted joints in commercially available laminated-annealed glass. The paper shows that GFRP reinforcement ensured significantly enhanced structural performances of the joints in annealed and heat-strengthened glass. Although the bolted joints in tempered glass showed the highest load capacity, the joints failed with no ductility where tempered glass shattered into small dices.