Abstract
Glass is largely used in architectural and engineering applications (i.e., buildings and vehicles) as a structural material, especially in the form of laminated glass (LG) sections. To achieve adequate and controlled safety levels in these applications, the well-known temperature-dependent behavior of viscoelastic interlayers for LG sections should be properly accounted for during the design process. Furthermore, the materials’ thermomechanical degradation with increases of temperature could severely affect the load-bearing performance of glass assemblies. In this context, uncoupled thermomechanical finite element (FE) numerical models could represent a robust tool and support for design engineers. Key input parameters and possible limits of the FE method, however, should be properly calibrated and assessed, so as to enable reliable estimations for the real behavior of glazing systems. In this paper, FE simulations are proposed for monolithic (MG) and LG specimens under radiant heating, based on one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) models. A special attention is focused on thermal effects, being representative of the first step for conventional uncoupled, thermomechanical analyses. Based on experimental results available in the literature, FE parametric studies are discussed, giving evidence of limits and issues due to several modeling assumptions. In particular, careful consideration is paid for various thermal material properties (conductivity, specific heat) and thermal boundaries (conductivity, emissivity), but also for other influencing parameters like the geometrical features of samples (thickness tolerances, cross-sectional properties, etc.), the composition of LG sections (interlayer type, thickness), the loading pattern (heat transfer distribution) and the presence of additional mechanical restraints (i.e., supports of different materials). Comparative FE results are hence critically discussed, highlighting the major effects of such influencing parameters.
Highlights
Glass is increasingly used in buildings as a structural material for load bearing components like columns, beams and fins, plates for roofs and facades, as a major effect of aesthetic-related benefits [1,2,3].The structural role of glass is getting important in other fields, such as the automotive industryMaterials 2018, 11, 1447; doi:10.3390/ma11081447 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials Materials FOR PEER REVIEWMaterials2018, 22of of23 industry where laminated glass (LG) windshields might contribute to the overall crasworthiness of vehicles [4,5].where LG the windshields contribute the overall of vehicles components [4,5]
Compared to existing research efforts, this paper focuses on the performance evaluation of glass
Compared to existing research efforts, this paper focuses on the performance evaluation of glass under thermal exposure, based on finite element (FE) numerical models and past experimental tests [14,15,16]
Summary
Glass is increasingly used in buildings as a structural material for load bearing components like columns, beams and fins, plates for roofs and facades, as a major effect of aesthetic-related benefits [1,2,3]. In this investigation, to the thermal response of selected MG and LG samples, being representative of the first step for uncoupled, thermomechanical FE simulations conventionally in use for the structural analysis and performance assessment of building components and load-bearing systems. Numerical analyses are discussed for selected MG and LG specimens under radiant heat flux, so to assess the accuracy and potential of both 1D and 2D FE models Given the potential of 2D assemblies, compared to geometrically simplified 1D models, the effects of different thermal and mechanical boundary conditions are further emphasized, including sensitivity studies aimed to capture the effects of heat transfer distributions, or possible contact regions for the given glass samples (i.e., with additional mechanical restraints)
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