Monotonic and Creep Studies on the Pull-Through Resistance of Laminated Glass with Locally Embedded Steel Mesh

Abstract

The paper deals with the phenomenon of post-breakage capacity in point-fixed laminated glass elements and reports the results of an ongoing research project aimed at developing a reinforced point-fixed laminated glass element with locally embedded steel mesh and increased post-breakage capacity. The work involved monotonic and creep studies on the pull-through resistance in a custom-made experimental setup. A total of 12 test series and 48 specimens were tested, including reference and reinforced samples. In the monotonic loading experiment, the load increase after the initial glass breakage was observed for all specimens. However, the reinforced specimens with embedded steel mesh showed significantly improved post-breakage capacity. It was found that the local reinforcement in the direct vicinity of the hole in the glass increased the post-breakage strength by 46.3%, 102.6%, and 156.2% for reinforcement diameters of 75 mm, 110 mm, and 150 mm, respectively. Moreover, the creep study found that the reinforcement significantly increased the time to failure.