Material selection and testing of composite panels made of glass and fibre-reinforced plastic

Abstract

The trend in modern architecture towards high-quality building envelopes is continuing. Due to its high surface quality and the broad colour spectrum, enamelled glass is used for weather protection and as a design element. The novel elements discussed in this paper do not require any sealant or adhesive since the fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) layer is directly applied on the rear glass surface. On the one hand, the applied polymer provides a matrix for embedding the fibres and on the other hand, it provides an adhesive bond to the glass. Therefore, no additional bonding process is required. The combination of both materials enables a full composite action. The novel material combination utilises the positive characteristics of each material. The high durability of glass provides protection against environmental impacts and the FRP provides an enhanced load-bearing behaviour. This paper presents the choice of suitable materials for FRP and gives an insight into the experimental testing of the novel material combination. This shows that the glass contributes to the load transfer in the system due to the significant coupling effects.

The effects of glass fiber sheet lamination on the connection strength of single-bolted pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer profiles

“…30 The strength of PGFRP members is higher in the UD (longitudinal/pultrusion) direction than in the transverse direction, whereas the strength in the transverse direction is mostly provided by chopped strand mat (CSM). [28][29][30] Because the UD components are crucial parts of PGFRP profiles, the shear strength of PGFRP members in the UD direction is mainly provided by shear strength matrices. 31 As a result, the shear-out strength of PGFRP members is very small, especially in connections with small e/d values.…”