Study on the Influence of Window Glass Size on Blast-Resistant Performance

Abstract

As the most commonly used exterior-protecting components for buildings, window glass, due to its typical brittle characteristics, is more prone to break under the action of blast loads and produce high-speed flying fragments, which can pose a great threat to personal safety. This paper studies the influence of the size of window glasses on their failure characteristics. A simplified numerical simulation-based method for evaluating the P–I (pressure–impulsive) curve of window glass failure under blast loads is proposed. The influences of the length–width ratio, the area, and the thickness of the P–I curves of window glasses are systematically investigated. It was found that smaller a length–width ratio, smaller area, and thicker panel could increase the blast resistance of the window glasses. The empirical prediction formulae for the P–I curves of window glasses with different geometrical dimensions are established, and the validity of the proposed empirical formula is verified.