EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF CURVED GLASS PLATES UNDER PRESSURE LOAD

Curved glass plates are used as curtain walls in modern buildings for architectural requirements, which makes
them exposed to wind load pressure. In this research, an experimental test and finite element analysis are carried
out to investigate the behavior of curved glass plates under uniform pressure loads. Thin curved aluminum plate
was tested simulating a monolithic glass plate due to the similarity of modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio in
both aluminum and glass [1]. In order to simulate a uniform pressure loading on the tested plate, an enclosed
chamber was manufactured as a supporting system for the tested plate which was glued with the chamber using
structural silicon sealant. The internal air in the chamber was sucked out to simulate the positive pressure on the
outside surface of the tested plate. Displacement transducers and strain gauges were mounted on the tested system
to measure the displacements and strains as the pressure was reduced inside the chamber. Numerical sensitivity
analysis was made using ABAQUS 6.14 software to find out the suitable element type and support conditions
that could simulate the experimental model. Results of analysis were presented and discussed. It was found that
the 8-node solid element could not represent the curved plate. On the other hand, 20-node solid element could
simulate curved glass plate but showed higher failure load. The best element that could simulate the thin curved
glass plate is found to be shell element in the current study