Finite element modelling of architectural laminated glass

Laminated glass (LG) comprises two or more glass plates bonded together with elastomeric interlayer. Automobile and aircraft industries have used LG for years because of its ability to maintain closure of window openings following fracture. In the last decade, the architectural industry began to utilise the potential of LG as the best glazing material for building fenestrations that might experience extreme loadings. Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer and recently advanced polymer interlayer have relatively small thickness in comparison with that of the glass plates in LG. In addition, the structural properties of the interlayer materials vary radically from those of window glass. These issues make analysis of LG difficult. This article presents a higher order finite element model (FEM) to analyse LG under uniform loading. The formulated model can analyse LG with different glass plate types and different interlayer thicknesses over a wide temperature range. While not as comprehensive as some analytical techniques for LG, this model has the advantage of being able to handle different shapes (rectangular, trapezoidal, triangular, etc.) and boundary conditions.