Pattern glass features motives that generate a non-flat surface and, to some extent, affect its transparency. It exists a wide variety of patterns which vary in motive and depth. It can be intuitive that different patterns would yield to different resistance, but there is lack of data on the subject. A selection of patterned glass was tested destructively on a 4-point bending setup. The range of patterns to test was chosen in order to cover nearly-flat patterns as well as deep patterns. A FE study was performed, along the destructive test, whereby the real geometry of the pattern, as directly measured, was modelled. It was found that the geometry of the patterns induces stress concentration, which depend on the curvature and concavity. This has a direct effect on the actual peak stress on patterned glass when subjected to flexure. The results of this study confirmed that the characteristic bending strength of patterned glass varies widely from one pattern to another. This suggests that the standards ought to acknowledge the need to expand the types of patterned glass to more than one. Rules of thumbs are provided to derive the stress concentration factors and the pattern profile.
Marco Zaccaria
Inherent stress concentration in patterned glass
Company: AGC Glass Europe, Gosselies, Belgium
About the speaker:
Marco Zaccaria works as a researcher in the R&D center of AGC Glass Europe, working in the architectural field (IGUs, thin glass, and more recently circularity for facades). Before that he completed a PhD on ‘Bi-tempered glass’ at the University of Cambridge. He actively collaborate with Universities to foster glass research in the architectural field.
