Wind Loading and Strength of Cladding Glass

Abstract

A procedure for investigating glass cladding behavior under arbitrary loads, including fluctuating wind loads, is presented. The procedure accounts for the fact that internal stresses are nonlinear functions of the external loads, that initial glass strengths are random functions of position and direction, and that glass strength undergoes degradation under the action of external loads in accordance with basic fracture mechanics laws. Numerical examples are presented, and corresponding probability distribution curves are calculated, indicating the probability of failure of a specified panel subjected to 1‐min constant loads. The work reported in the paper is part of an ongoing window cladding research program being conducted at the National Bureau of Standards.