Predictive Analysis of Laminated Glass Performance Under Static and Dynamic Loading Conditions

Abstract

Laminated safety glass is normally used when there is a possibility of human impact or where the glass could fall if shattered. Glass laminate films, the plastic film called an interlayer that is adhered between sheets of glass, are an important component of many glass applications.  In an event that causes breakage of the glass, it is held in place by an interlayer, between its two or more layers of glass. The interlayer keeps the glass bonded even when broken, and its high strength prevents the glass from breaking up into large sharp pieces. Various physical tests (standard/non-standard) can be found in the literature to develop and screen the different interlayer materials. In the last several years, we have witnessed extensive growth in computational modeling of complex nonlinear behavior of laminated glass panels with viscoelastic interlayers. To evaluate the mechanical behavior of laterally-loaded interlayer in laminated safety glass, finite element (FE) modeling is widely used in industry.  Recently, FE modeling techniques and methods helped to identify selection criterion for proposed materials to be used in the interlayer of laminated glass. The present study aims to develop a numerical model (Finite Element model) verified by experimental results/data given in literature and to utilize the model to examine the mechanical behavior of laterally-loaded interlayer films in laminated safety glass subjected to standard/non-standard tests (four-point bending test and Impact test) conditions. Also, parametric studies (effect of interlayer/glass thickness, impactor speed, soft/stiff interlayer material etc.) are performed through FE analysis to investigate the impact of these parameters on the behavior of the interlayer material.