Cold Bent Glass Sheets in Façade Structures

The geometrical pattern of cold bent glass sheets, to be used in curved facades, has been investigated by experimental, analytical and numerical research. From a design point of view it was necessary to gain more knowledge about warping of glass panes. In experiments by increasing warping, the deformed shape of the pane suddenly changes from one geometrical mode to another. This phenomenon is caused by buckling of one of the diagonals. By means of a lattice model, for the transition point, at which the geometrical mode changes, a linear relation between the deformation at the corner and the thickness of the plate was derived for a certain ratio of plate length and width. Based on a plate model, the influence of the plate dimensions and the material properties on the moment of transition were investigated numerically.