Influence of corner and edge distance of adhesive point-fixings for glass structures

Abstract

Nowadays, bolted point-fixings are widely used, which implies that the glass has to be drilled and tempered. Consequently, the glass is significantly weakened exactly at the position where peak stresses occur when forces are applied. In contrast, this disadvantage does not occur when adhesive technologies are used in which the glass is directly bonded at discrete points.From bolted point-fixings, it is well-known that the distance between the connection and on the one hand the glass corner and on the other hand the glass edge are major parameters that influence the strength and behaviour of the connection. However, for adhesive point-fixings this influence has not been extensively investigated yet. Consequently, in this paper the results of a thorough experimental study of the influence of the corner and edge distance on a full-scale glass panel supported by adhesive point-fixings is published and analysed. A numerical model is constructed and validated with the experimental results. By means of a parametric study on this numerical model the effects of several parameters, such as geometrical dimensions and material properties, are studied.The experimental and numerical results demonstrate that the corner and edge distance have a significant influence on the stress distribution and deflection of the glass panel: stresses and deformations are reduced with increasing corner and edge distance. However, from a certain distance the location of maximal stress and deflection will shift from the centre to the corner and edge causing the stresses and deformations to rise again. From the parametric study the influence of several material and geometrical parameters are investigated, and an optimal distance can be found. Increasing the glass thickness, the connection diameter, the adhesive stiffness and the adhesive thickness will have a positive effect on the occurring stresses.