Numerical study on fire response of glass facades in different installation forms

• Fracture behavior is investigated by three-dimensional finite element method.
• Glass stress distributions, breaking time and the initiation and propagation of crack are presented.
• Shading and constraining condition significantly influences the breaking performance of glass facades.
• Engineering advice for facades fire resistance is obtained through analysis and comparison.

Building façades made of glass are viewed as one of the weakest parts of a building; these can easily break in case of fire and change the compartment fire dynamic by creating a new opening for air to enter. According to the onsite survey in four cities in China, nine cases with different shaded and constraining conditions are designed to investigate the thermal response of Low-E glass façades when subjected to a fire. The Coulomb–Mohr criterion and SIFs based mixed-mode criterion are employed to predict the crack initiation and growth, respectively. The glass stress distributions, breaking time and the initiation and propagation of crack are presented, using the three-dimensional finite element method. It was found that various shaded and constraining conditions have a significant effect on the breaking behavior of glass panes. The glass panes with four edges shaded are more prone breaking than other shaded cases, but the four edges constrained pane is relatively safer. All cracks initiate either from the edge of the pane or the borderline between the exposed and shaded areas. Furthermore, practical advice to optimize the window installation design or ways to protect the glass from falling out in a fire can be obtained from the results.