Influence of embedded steel mesh inserts on post-breakage capacity of laminated glass

Department of Structural Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 5, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

^* Corresponding author: marcin.kozlowski@polsl.pl

Abstract

Glass, as a building material, has been known for a long time. The first glass uses were limited to filling window frames. However, in recent years, the popularity of glass in construction has increased significantly. All this is due to the growing trend to bring as much natural sunlight into the buildings as possible. The increasingly popular treatment of glass as a construction material requires using laminated glass, in which a film permanently joins together two or more glass panes. This unique behaviour is because the film between the glass sheets holds the glass fragments in place when they are fractured. In this way, avoiding the risk of injury to people in the vicinity is possible. As part of the ongoing project, “Innovative solution for point-fixed laminated glass with improved capacity after glass fracture” financed by the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) within the LIDER XI Program, an idea of laminating a steel woven mesh to glass laminates is being investigated. The steel mesh insert is designed to increase the load-bearing capacity of the sample in the post-breakage phase, thus increasing the safety of building occupants. The article deals with the post-breakage capacity of laminated glass elements subjected to three types of loading: in-plane, out-of-plane and combined actions.