Experimental Analysis of Laminated Embedded Steel Insert in Load Bearing Connections

Abstract

Use of glass as a load bearing structural elements has increased significantly in last years. The glass is brittle material, which behaves elastically until brittle failure which occurs suddenly without any warning. Therefore, special emphasis shell be devoted to the connections with load bearing role. Their inappropriate design can lead to local peaks of stress or eccentricity of the connections and the generation of additional moments, resulting in a reduction of the load-bearing capacity. Currently, mechanical (clamped, friction-grip and bolted connections) or adhesive joints are commonly used, the latter being characterized by a more uniformly distributed stress along the connection and the undisturbed surface of the glass panels. The disadvantage of polymeric adhesives is however the sensitivity of the load-bearing capacity to the ageing, technology of the production - the proper cleaning of the surfaces as well as the application of adhesive, UV stability during the lifetime etc. Although, there is still a lack of information about all aspects of the adhesive behaviour in the load bearing joint, their use in structural applications is considered very promising. In the last years, a novel typology of enhanced adhesive connections, known as laminated adhesive connection, has been developed. These connections are formed during the lamination process of the laminated glass fabrication and they are characterized by transparency and high aesthetic appearance especially when the size of the laminated metal insert is limited. Paper is focused on the experimental investigation of novel embedded laminated connection with thick steel plate and built-in internal thread pre-prepared for common bolts, used to assembly glass element to another one, or directly to the steel or concrete substructure. Mechanical behaviour of this connection is main goal of the research. Small scale test specimens were tested to obtain mechanical behaviour of the connection. Embedded stainless steel plate in laminated glass is in vertical position and enables connection between the glass cantilever beam and supporting structure. The specimens were loaded until maximum strength of connection was reached.