A Design Model for Glass Elements Based on the Statistical Distribution of Crack Sizes

Abstract

A probabilistic model for the design of building glazing plates of monolithic glass in buildings is presented here. The model is implemented for practical use in Windesign, a computer program developed by the authors. A novel contribution of the model is the consideration of maximal crack sizes as a reference parameter to predict material fracture instead of the critical strengths of the materials, as is usually the case. A sensitivity analysis is also included to assess the relative influence of the different parameters on the model.