Numerical simulation of the EN 12600 Pendulum Test for Structural Glass

Abstract

In modern-day architecture, transparent glass units are omnipresent as large façades, windows, floors and balustrades. To ensure safety in an accident, glass panels must successfully pass the 'human impact' test, described by the international standard EN 12600. This test setup consists of a steel frame in which the test plate is clamped with prescribed force; and the pendulum impactor, hanging from a steel cable. The impactor weighs a total 50 kg and is built up from a rigid steel core to which two small tyres are mounted. The window panels are assigned a qualification number as they remain intact, fracture without losing integrity or fragment completely in impacts from different drop heights. As experimental testing is expensive and time-consuming, there is an interest in numerical modelling to predict a qualifying glass panel, which is already allowed by the German standard DIN 18008-4. Several modelling approaches allow the impact simulation for intact glass panels. This paper presents a detailed numerical model for the pendulum impact which enables realistic simulation of impactor, frame and test plate, to be valid also for the post-breakage safety assessment of laminated glass. The model shows good correspondence for static compression of the tyres and for impact against a pressure plate. Further comparison is made for the impact on a laminated glass panel that remains intact. Although less suited for structural design qualification, the detailed model can be used for future simulation of the post-breakage response of laminated glass panels.