A New Structural Material by Architectural Demand

• Published in: Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation pp. 455 - 462
• Main Authors: G.J., Hobbelman, G.P.A.G., van Zijl, F.A., Veer, C.N., Ting
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science 2001
• ISBN: 9780080439488; 0080439489
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-008043948-8/50047-3

Maximum transparency has become a trend in architectural design. The demand that not only infill or cladding elements should be fabricated of transparent materials but also the load bearing elements has led to a research program toward the design of a new laminated glass/polycarbonate sandwich composite material. By the optimal combination of the strong but brittle hardened glass and ductile polycarbonate, a strong, ductile building material can be obtained. Of importance is the characterization of the material behaviors. The chapter combines the experimental and computational approach to study and characterize the main features of the material. Experiments on small elements of the separate components are performed to obtain characterization data for a discrete, two-phase modeling approach. Simultaneously, tests on beams of various laminate layouts are performed to gain insights into the interaction of the two laminate materials and provide verification and validation data for the computational model.