Load Bearing Capacity of Connections in Tempered Glass Structures

In the design of high load bearing capacity beams made of tempered flat glass, connections cannot be avoided when large-span or high-stiffness beams are considered. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a method to calculate the load bearing capacity that can help the design of dowel type joints in tempered glass structures in buildings. The technology presented is derived from the one used for hanging glass in facades. In a first step, residual stresses due to thermal tempering are modelled with the Finite Element Method. Narayanas-wamy's model is used to describe the thermo-mechanical behaviour of glass. The different heat transfers are identified and modelled for a given tempering process. In a second step, the state of stresses due to the loading of the metallic connector is analysed. The numerical prediction of stresses is validated by means of experiments. The superposition of these two stress states is combined to get a design criterion for holed tempered glass plates loaded by dowel type joints.