Structural Optimization of Laminated Annealed Glass

Abstract

Laminated glass, made by bonding glass plies together through polymeric interlayers, is a redundant system that allows for stress redistribution after partial failure. This study analyzes how the structural safety level of laminates made by two or three plies of annealed glass varies with the ratio between the thicknesses of the layers and their placement in the package. The probability of failure of laminated glass elements, in which the layers are arranged in different order, is statistically analyzed under gust wind loads, accounting for all the potential sequences of breakage for the plies. The gain obtainable from a tailored composition is quantitatively estimated through specific safety factors to be used in semiprobabilistic (Level I) design and calibrated through comparison in paradigmatic case studies with full-probabilistic (Level III) methods. Optimal laminated packages are thus determined as a function of the target probability of failure classified according to four distinct classes of consequences for malfunction or failure.