Predicting Failure in Glass—A General Crack Growth Model

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The successful design of glass as a structural element depends mainly on the ability to predict failure with accuracy and ease. Over the last 30 years various failure prediction models have been put forward for determining the load bearing capacity of glass, some of which have been adopted in national codes of practice. The differences between these models translate into a wide range of glass strength and glass thickness values in glass design. This paper compares the mathematical formulations of a number of existing failure prediction models, and the differences between these models are identified and discussed. From these comparisons a general crack growth model (GCGM) based on established statistical failure theory and linear elastic fracture mechanics is proposed. The performance of the existing models and the proposed GCGM is compared by physical and numerical investigations. The proposed model is shown to provide a basis for an accurate and automated method for determining the tensile strength of glass subjected to static loads and valid for any geometry and support condition.