The feasibility of mechanically pre-stressing laminated glass beams with adhesively bonded iron-based shape memory alloy (Fe-SMA) strips has been assessed in recent experimental investigations. By adhesively bonding such pre-strained strips along the edges of glass beams, their initial fracture load can be increased, and especially their post-fracture load-bearing capacity can be significantly improved. An additional pre-stressing of the beams, which can be done with significantly less effort than for tendons made of other materials, by heating the Fe-SMA strips (e.g. by electrical resistive heating), leads to a further increase of the initial fracture load. While using an adhesive joint between the strip and the glass edge is advantageous for obtaining a composite action as well as in terms of crack gaping after glass fracture, the behavior of the adhesive at high temperatures and over longer durations is a cause of concern. Moreover, adhesive joints represent an issue considering the increasing demand for structural elements to be demountable.
This contribution introduces concepts for pre-stressing laminated glass beams with Fe-SMA tendons mechanically anchored at the ends of the glass beams. These concepts are assessed and compared to each other as well as to non-reinforced laminated glass beams based on finite element analysis results. The models used for simulating the pre-stressing process and the structural performance under four-point bending have been validated with previously conducted experiments. The presented results emphasize the advantages of different concepts and point out identified limitations.
