Approximate Strength Analysis for Glass Plates

Abstract

Available methods of strength analysis of glass plates provide conflicting estimates of the reliability of glass plates under known loading. The most realistic theory is unfortunately also the most complex and yields a paradoxical result: Some glass plates can support higher uniform pressure when they are made longer, wider, and thinner. An alternative theory, using concepts that are simple and familiar to the structural engineer, is therefore developed. The theory neglects Poisson's ratio and employs, for flexural stresses at the center, large displacement harmonic decomposition truncated after the first term. Membrane stresses at the center are calculated from second‐order theory and deep beam analysis. The loading component carried by this stress system is subtracted from the applied uniform loading to define a loading around the edges. The maximum stresses from this loading are calculated by elementary beam theory. This theory is calibrated to agree with recent tests. It provides a simple explanation for the paradoxical result of complex theory.