Response Measurements for Glass Cladding Panels

Abstract

Response measurements in the laboratory of full scale glass cladding panels are presented and compared with the predictions of finite element models. The detailed static and dynamic behavior of a glass panel (window) mounted within a flexible frame and attached to a building frame by means of flexible connections was the focus of the studies. Both singles as well as double pane glass panels are handled. The present results are limited to dynamic response analyses and measurments only. The dynamic response measurements reveal the presence, as predicted, of double plate modes in which the plates move out of phase with respect to each other. One of these, involving no net interpane volume change, is found to occur at a low enough frequency to pose potential problems in large windows where significant pressure nonuniformity might provide excitation. For the range of parameters studied, the results are in good agreement with the predictions of the models and thus confirm their validity and appropriateness.