Quasi-Static and Dynamic Testing of Annealed Float Glass

Abstract

Three different experimental set-ups were employed in the investigation of the fracture strength of annealed float glass. These included four-point bending tests on three different specimen sizes, and quasi-static and dynamic pressure tests. The latter tests were conducted in a shock tube, i.e., a device that produces pressure loadings similar to that from a far-field blast event. The experimental work demonstrated that the fracture strength of glass varies largely within the same test set-up. It also revealed that the fracture strength and its scatter are dependent on the size of the specimen, the boundary conditions and the loading situation. By employing a newly proposed strength prediction model, which relies on the physical fracture behaviour of glass, the trends observed in the experiments were correctly recreated.