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Buckling Verification of Laminated Glass Elements in Compression
Buckling Verification of Laminated Glass Elements in Compression
in Compression
Claudio Amadio1 , Chiara Bedon2
Depart ment of Civ il Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste
Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy
1
amadio@units.it; 2 chiara.bedon@phd.units.it
Abstract- Because of the characteristic of high slenderness compression or shear has been deeply examined in [8, 9, and
ratios, monolithic and laminated glass elements are frequently 10].
subjected to buckling phenomena. As regards laminated glass
beams and panels, in particular, the effects of possible Rationally, a realistic buckling verificat ion of LG
temperature or time-load variations represent only some compressed beams and panels should be performed by
aspects that make complex their global structural response. In contemporarily satisfying a series of requisites concerning
this context, the paper focuses on the load-carrying behavior of the resistance, the serviceability, and the durability of such
in-plane compressed laminated glass elements. In it, some
brittle elements. At the same t ime, the effective connection
analytical formulations are presented to describe realistically
their typical behavior. As shown, the proposed formulations offered by the interlayer should be precisely estimated, since
are in good agreement with experimental and numerical data strongly time-load and temperature dependent. Nevertheless,
available in literature. At the same time, they allow to perform consolidate verification criteria available in literature for the
a rational buckling verification of such brittle load-bearing buckling verification o f trad itional structural elements (steel,
elements. Finally, according to the suggestions the Eurocodes for example [11]) cannot be directly applied to LG elements.
give for the verification of traditional structural elements, a Because of this reasons, in the paper some analytical
series of buckling curves opportunely calibrated are proposed
to guarantee the requisites of resistance, serviceability, and formulat ions are proposed for the buckling verification of in-
durability typically imposed in the design of conventional plane compressed LG beams and panels. The aim is to
structural systems. derive simple and consistent design rules for pane-like g lass
columns with laminated sections subjected to axial
Keywords- Laminated Glass; In-plane Compressed Beams
compressive loads. As shown, these analytical models are in
and Panels; Sandwich Elements; Equivalent Thickness;
Buckling Curves good agreement with nu merical and experimental data.
In addition, according to the suggestions of Eurocodes 3,
I. INT RODUCTION 4, 5 [11, 12, and 13], a series of buckling curves opportunely
The use of monolithic or laminate glass (LG) elements in calibrated are proposed to guarantee the requisites of
modern and innovative architectural applications showed a resistance, serviceability and durability typically required in
strong increase in the last years. Because of aesthetic, the design of conventional structural systems. As proposed
lighting, and architectural advantages, glass elements are in the following sections, these buckling curves are in good
frequently used as structural components able to sustain agreement with experimental data collected in literature, as
loads. However, the real capabilities of such innovative well as with nu merical results.
bearing co mponents are currently not well known and
several aspects related to their typical load-carry ing behavior II. ANALYTICAL MODEL FOR COMPRESSED LAMINATED
are very comp lex to evaluate. The load-carry ing capacity of GLASS BEAMS
LG beams or panels, for examp le, strongly depends on the
The analysis of co mpressed laminated glass beams is
degradation of the mechanical p roperties of the interlayer, as
generally performed by using the elastic theory of sandwich
well as on the presence and the amplitude of possible
imperfections, or the presence of additional external loads. elements [14]. Recently, based on these sandwich
formulat ions, an equivalent thickness approach has been
In this context, several authors observed that temperature proposed to study the behavior of a monolith ic co mpressed
variations could strongly influence the mechanical properties element characterized by a rectangular cross section of
of the thermop lastic materials usually adopted to bond thickness teff [4]. As a result, the flexu ral behavior of the
together the glass panes [1, 2, and 3]. Recently, nu merous composite beam is described through the classical theory of
authors focused on the buckled response of structural g lass deflection. This analytical formu lation undoubtedly
elements in several boundary or loading conditions. Luible constitutes a suitable design method for compressed LG
[4], for examp le, investigated the load-carry ing behavior of elements, but does not allow understanding how, depending
LG beams or panels and performed experimental tests to on variations of temperature and load duration, the
analyze their typical response. Belis [5] studied the lateral- mechanical properties of the interlayer can influence the
torsional buckling of LG beams. In [6, 7], the authors global response of the layered element.
proposed an exact analytical approach for the buckling
verification of LG beams in co mpression or in out-of-p lane In this last years, also Blaauwendraad [15] proposed a
bending. The behavior of LG panels under in-p lane simp lified formulat ion able to easily control the transition
N(E)cr [N]
describing the load N-transversal displacement w of a N
generic LG beam in co mpression, by taking into account the 1.00x103
5/1.52/5mm
b= 200mm, L0= 3000mm
effective shear stiffness Gint of the interlayer and the 2
7.50x10 N(E)cr (Eq.(13))
presence of possible sinusoidal Gint= 8.06N/mm2
imperfections w( z ) = w0 sin(z L0 ) . If the co mpression N 5.00x102 Gint= 0.971N/mm2
Gint= 0.052N/mm2
gradually increases, the loss of stability of the beam 2
2.50x10 N(E)cr,abs= 320N
typically shows in the form of an abrupt and non-
proportional increase of the corresponding displacement 0.00x100
wmax. 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104
Gint [N/mm2]
Consequently, Eq.(7) can be used to express the critical
buckling load N cr( E ) of the LG beam, assumed as the Fig. 2 Effects of temperature and time-load conditions on the critical
buckling load N cr( E ) of a compressed LG beam (5/1.52/5mm, b=200mm x
asymptotical value N to wh ich the growing displacement
L0 = 3000mm) [18]
wmax tends:
2 EJ abs EJ full 2 L20 + 2 . (13) III. NUMERICAL VALIDATION
N cr( E ) =
L 2 2 EJ L2 + EJ 2
0 abs 0 full To validate the analytical approach proposed for the
buckling analysis of compressed LG beams, two different
Depending on the shear modulus Gint of the material
nonlinear finite-element (FE) models were constructed with
constituting the interlayer, the critical load N cr( E ) of a generic
the commercial nonlinear code ABA QUS [19]. In the first
LG beam is always co mprised between the well-known limit three-dimensional (3 D) FE-model, the glass panes and the
values N cr( E, )full (monolithic limit, Gint , that is ) middle PVB-film have been described by means of 3D
and N cr( E,abs
)
(layered limit, Gint 0, that is 0): eight-node elements. In similar models, it is important to
define a sufficiently accurate mesh for the elements, since
2 EJ full , the convergence of simulations as well as the accuracy of
N cr( E, )full = (14) numerical results may be seriously compro mised. Because
L20
of this reason, two elements over the depth of each g lass
2 EJ abs . sheet and the interlayer have been used. At the same time, an
N cr( E,abs
)
= (15)
opportune mesh has been applied in the width of the
L20
examined LG beams (Fig. 3).
This finding constitutes an important aspect in the
analysis of LG elements, sine the material commonly used to
bond together the glass sheets (PVB Butacite, SG , EVA,
etc.) consists in thermoplastic materials strongly temperature
and load time-dependent. PVB-films, in particular, have
good mechanical properties if subjected to room
temperatures or short-term loads, but present a strong
degradation of shear stiffness with high temperatures and
long-term loads [18].
In Fig. 2, for example, the effects of stiffness degradation
on the value of the critical buckling load N cr( E ) are proposed
for a PVB-laminated glass beam (5/1.52/5mm) having
dimensions b=200mm x L0 = 3000mm. In particular, N cr( E ) is
evaluated by means of Eq. 13 by assuming Gint a value
comprised in the range 10-4 N/ mm2 < Gint < 104 N/ mm2 . In
N(E)cr [N]
connected together by using the same nodes. To avoid 1.00x103
N
possible eccentricities, boundaries were applied at the
central nodes of the PVB-film, at both the ends of each 7.50x10
2 5/1.52/5mm
b= 200mm, L0= 3000mm
simp ly supported LG beam. The co mp ressive axial load was N(E)cr (Eq.(13))
introduced in the FE-model in the form of uniformly 5.00x102 ABAQUS (3D)
distributed pressure acting on the lower and upper surfaces ABAQUS (MShell)
of 3D elements. 2.50x10
2
N(E)cr,abs= 320N
0.75
of mechanical (PVB stiffness) or geometrical properties
(slenderness of the beam, ratio between the thicknesses of
glass and interlayer) in the buckling response of LG beams 0.50
in compression. In this simu lation phase, also the accuracy
of the simp lest Mshell FE-model was checked.
0.25
The main results are proposed in Fig. 4, in the form of N
with A the cross-sectional area and Wy the elastic resistant In Eq. (33), the reduction factor can be estimated by
modulus (Eq. (11)). means of the expression obtained by Eq. (30) and suggested
The substitution of Eq.(25) into Eq. (26) p rovides the by the Eurocode 3 [11]:
well-known exp ression [21]: 1 , with 1 (34)
=
2
( Rk max ) ( cr( E ) max ) = max cr( E ) , (27) + 2
where: where:
2
max is the maximu m tensile stress due to the applied = 0.5 [1 + imp ( 0 ) + ] , (35)
compression N ,
is the slenderness of Eq. (31),
N (E) (28)
(E)
cr = cr imp = 0.71,
A
is the critical stress of the beam, with N cr( E ) given by Eq.(13), 0 = 0.60 .
and
A In this case, the imperfect ion coefficients imp and 0
=w (29)
0
Wy have been opportunely calibrated on the basis of numerical
and experimental data available in literature for co mpressed
is a generalized non-dimensional imperfection factor. monolithic or laminated glass beams [4, 22, 23]. In the
Eq. (25) is the analytical expression able to represent the specific, the coefficient 0 indiv iduates the values of
relationship between the applied co mpressive load N, the slenderness associated to a reduction factor equal to
Eu ler critical load N cr( E ) and the equivalent in itial deflection = 1 . The value of the coefficient imp individuates the
of maximu m amp litude w0 for the comp ressed LG beam. Eq. maximu m allowable imperfect ion for the co mpressed
(25) can also be written in the standard form: member.
occurs. Because of this reason, the safety factors should be
0.6
carefully calibrated.
1.4
Euler 0.4
EC Curve (imp= 0.71, 0= 0.60)
1.2 M1= 1.40
0.2
Test [4]
Test [22]
1.0
Test [23] 0.0
ABAQUS (w0= L0/400)
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
_
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.8
Fig. 8 Simply supported LG panel subjected to in-plane compression: Because of this reason, in [10] an equivalent thickness
geometry and cross section approach has been presented to precisely investigate the
buckled response of in -plane co mpressed LG panels. In
The crit ical buckling load N y( E,cr) ,lam of the LG panel is accordance with this simplified but accurate formulat ion, the
commonly estimated by means of the linear elastic theory of behavior of the LG panel can be described by means of the
sandwich elements. In accordance with Zenkerts classical theory of monolithic plates, by assuming:
formulat ion, in particular, the crit ical load N y( E,cr) ,lam is given
t eq , w = 3 t13 + t 23 + 12J s , (44)
by [24]:
with:
D1 + D2 mb
2
As b 2 (45)
+ 1 + , (36) =
1
a Ds D
2 2
mb a D 2
N =
(E)
+ 1 + 9.6
EJ s tint
a mb mb 2
y , cr , lam
As b2 Gint t s
2 2
+ 1 + 2
a Ds
= min(a, b) , (46)
with:
D = D1 + Ds + D2 , (37) J s = t1t s22 + t 2 t s21 , (47)
Nu merical and analytical co mparisons performed by In [10], it was shown that the coefficient should be
Lu ible [4] demonstrated that Eq. (36) predicts with a good assumed equal to:
level of accuracy the bifurcation load N y( E,cr) ,lam of simp ly 1.09
= + 1.09 . (51)
supported LG panels, for well-defined values of Gint . 2
In particular, Luible showed that the mean ratio between In this manner, the critical buckling load N y( E,cr) ,lam can
analytical and numerical critical loads of 200 LG panels
characterized by various geometrical (aspect ratio = a/b, be estimated as:
mb a Deq 2 Deq ,
thicknesses of glass sheets and interlayer) and mechanical 2 2
mb a ( D1 + D2 ) .
2 2 Due to the correction factor (Eq. (51)) the critical
N y( E,cr) ,abs = + (43)
buckling load given by Eq. (52) co incides with the solution
a mb b2
of Eq. (36).
Nevertheless, the estimation of the critical buckling load
(E)
At the same time, the load N -total transversal
N does not constitute a useful criterion to study in a
y ,cr ,lam displacement w relat ionship of the in-p lane co mpressed LG
realistic manner the stability problem o f a co mpressed LG panel can be described as [10]:
Abs (Eq.(52))
750
500
250
Fig. 9 3D+shell numerical model for simply supported in-plane compressed
LG panels detail (ABAQUS)
0
3D elements and shell elements were connected together
10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104
by using the same nodes. In addition, to describe the Gint [N/mm2]
effective geo metry of the LG panel, a section offset t offset =
4mm fro m the centroidal axis of each glass pane was applied Fig. 10 Critical buckling load N y( E,cr) ,lam for in-plane compressed LG simply
to shell elements. In-plane co mp ression was introduced in supported along the edges: analytical and numerical comparisons
Test-2 21.0 0.76 11.09 In Eq. (61), the reduction factor can be estimated by
means of Eq. (34), where is g iven by Eq. (35), with
Test-3 20.0 0.84 11.18 imp = 0.49 and 0 = 0.60 . In addition, the non-dimensional
slenderness (Eq. (31)) should be expressed as a function
VIII. DESIGN CRIT ERIA FOR IN-PLANE COMPRESSED of the critical buckling load N y( E,cr) ,lam of the examined LG
LAMINATED GLASS PANELS
panel, given by Eq. (53).
As proposed for LG beams in compression, the buckling
Also in this circu mstance, the imperfect ion factors
verification of simp ly supported in-plane co mpressed LG
panels should be performed by contemporarily satisfying imp = 0.49 and 0 = 0.60 have been opportunely calibrated
requisites of deformability and durability. In accordance on the basis of experimental and numerical data available in
with the Limit State approach, the maximu m transversal literature. As proposed in Fig. 12, for examp le, the limitation
displacement wmax of the panel, g iven by Eq. (55), should be provided by the suggested EC curve ( imp = 0.49 and
opportunely limited, as a function of the length a, by posing
0 = 0.60 ) is appro ximately equal to the conditions
for examp le the condition:
a expressed by Eq. (59), with k= 300 [7], and by Eq.(60), with
wmax . (59)
M 1 = 1.40 [7].
k
0.6
formulat ion is proposed for the verificat ion of in-p lane
compressed LG panels. Co mparisons with numerical and
experimental data are presented to validate the accuracy of
0.4
analytical formu lations. In both the circu mstances, the
presented models allo w to take into account the effective
0.2
level of connection offered by the adopted interlayer. At the
same time, a criterion based on the buckling curves of
0.0 Eurocodes is suggested for a rational buckling verification of
0 1 2 _ 3 4 5 compressed LG elements.
REFERENCES
Fig. 12 Buckling curve for the verification of LG panels under in
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