Characterisation of the mechanical behaviour of annealed glass–GFRP hybrid beams

Mechanical prestressing of annealed glass beams using pretensioned GFRP: Characterisation and potentiality

“…The authors of this paper have previously [7] shown that in double-layer annealed glass beams reinforced with an adhesively-bonded thin Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) strip, the combination of the GFRP and the top (i.e. compression) glass sheet ensured a notable load resistance in the beam after the bottom (i.e.…”

“…[4]) or Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) (e.g. [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]) has been investigated as an alternative means of ensuring strength and ductility in glass structures. Adhesively-bonded or mechanically-connected reinforcing material which is stronger than glass in tension has potential to carry the tensile stresses after glass has cracked.…”

“…Adhesively-bonded or mechanically-connected reinforcing material which is stronger than glass in tension has potential to carry the tensile stresses after glass has cracked. Similar to the polymer interlayer that holds broken glass in laminated glass structures, in cracked reinforced glass beams, the compressive stresses in unbroken glass pieces can keep the broken glass pieces locked in place whilst the reinforcement resists tension [7]. This behaviour ensures reinforced glass can resist a part of the original applied load even after the glass has cracked.…”

“…tension) glass sheet has cracked. The reinforced beams showed a 'displacement ductility index', which was defined as the ratio of the additional midspan deflection after reaching the peak load (note: peak load is the load at which the bottom glass sheet fails in tension) to the midspan deflection at the peak load, greater than 400% [7]. However, as expected, despite the significant ductile behaviour of the reinforced glass beams, the GFRP reinforcement did not contribute to a notable increase in the load capacity of the beams.…”

“…However, as expected, despite the significant ductile behaviour of the reinforced glass beams, the GFRP reinforcement did not contribute to a notable increase in the load capacity of the beams. The bottom glass sheet of the reinforced double-layer glass beams still cracked when the tensile stress reached the tensile strength of the original annealed glass [7].…”