Modelling of layers interactions on the structural behaviour of insulating glasses. Vertical deflection analyses

Insulating glasses (IGs) are composed by glass plates entrapping a cavity filled with a gas sealed by perimeter spacers. This composition pretends to guarantee higher energy efficiency and airborne sound insulation in buildings. The structural performances achieved by these IGs is not normally considered in detail. In fact, in codes there is no specific mechanical model for structural IGs under different loadings and boundary conditions, namely to estimate the vertical deflections when applied horizontally. For this, here a specific model, by combining some existing approaches, was proposed for two or four side supported IG under distributed/linear loadings. The main goal is to quantify if an IG follows a monolith or layered behaviour. Several analytical and numerical analyses using a finite element method (FEM) have been carried out. Then, the results have been validated against experimental laboratory measurements. Two specific IGs with different sizes have been used as case studies. Results show that FEM analyses of IGs are in close agreement with experimental measurements, whereas analytical code models are not as accurate as the numerical approach, in particular for two side supported IGs under linear loadings. Also, the effects of the gas and the interactions between superior and bottom glasses for a large IG are more relevant than for a small IG.