Design of Glass for High, Short Duration Wind Loads

Abstract

This paper describes a case study for the design of structural glazed IGUs for the New Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, which is subjected to high local wind loads of approximately 10kN/m2, with a load duration of approximately 0.1s. The paper focuses on how to interpret the current available codes and research to obtain a glass thickness with adequate resistance for the high short duration loads. The paper also focuses on the wind loads to be applied when calculating the fixing system, the structural silicone, the embedded aluminium profiles and the toggles which fix the glass to the aluminium mullions. For short duration wind loads, then currently available codes and guidelines only provide the equivalent glass stress for a 3s load duration, equivalent to a kmod = 1. The paper explains how wind load from wind tunnel tests should be used when sizing glass, and concludes how the IGUs for the Reykjavik New Concert Hall were sized.