Investigations on Linear Silicone Joints for Glass-Metal Elements with Composite Structural Behavior

Abstract

A trend towards adhesive connections instead of mechanical ones can be observed for transparent facades in recent years. Furthermore, research efforts are made to increase the efficiency regarding material use by designing systems with composite structural behavior. In this article, experimental and numerical results obtained for linear structural silicone joints between glass and stainless steel substrates, investigated separately under tensile and under shear loading, are discussed. The two selected adhesives, Dow Corning^® 993 and Sikasil^® SG-550, are approved for structural sealant glazing systems and are planned to be used within a novel concept for façade elements with composite structural behavior, consisting of a glass pane and a filigree metal framing. For an adhesive joint with prismatic geometry, the influence of different lengths, widths and thicknesses of the joint on its mechanical performance is assessed experimentally under tensile loading, while under shear loading only different thicknesses are investigated. Both under tensile and under shear loading, a dependency of the failure engineering stresses on the joint thickness is noticed. In a second step, the suitability of selected hyperelastic models is assessed for predicting the load versus displacement behavior of the investigated linear adhesive joints. The parameters required for these models are determined based on uniaxial tensile tests on dumbbell specimens.