Structural performance of laminated and unlaminated tempered glass under monotonic transverse loading

A total of thirty six bending tests have been conducted on 1220 × 460 mm sheets of glass, 9.5-, 12.7- and 15.9-mm thick, using slow-rate monotonic loading. Twenty four specimens were laminated on one side using either one or two 0.36-mm thick polyester transparent laminates. The study showed that lamination has significantly changed the failure mode of glass from a catastrophic failure, where fragments of glass shatter in different directions, to one which is still brittle yet safer, as the fractured glass remains fully intact. The average gains in flexural strength, stiffness and strain energy, as a result of lamination, were 20%, 10% and 34%, respectively, while the maximum gains in flexural strength, stiffness and strain energy were 36%, 33% and 52%, respectively. Because of the scatter of data, no specific correlation between the gains and reinforcement ratio (expressed as the ratio of laminate-to-glass thickness) could be established. The load–deflection behaviour of both laminated and unlaminated glass was linear up to failure. No rupture or delamination of the laminates were observed