Testing of timber–glass composite walls

Abstract

This paper deals with monotonous, quasistatic cyclic and dynamic testing of timber–glass composite wall panels. The goal of the testing was to analyse the general behaviour of timber–glass walls and the failure mechanisms that occur in such structures. First the basic properties of the adhesives (used to connect the timber and glass) were investigated. Experiments were performed on epoxy-, silicone- and polyurethane-based adhesives. These were followed by tests on timber–glass walls, which consisted of 2·4 × 2·4 m timber frames and insulating glass units glued to the timber frame with a polyurethane adhesive. Two types of such walls were used: (a) frames with one large glass panel or (b) two smaller glass panels with one timber post in-between. The wall panels were subjected to monotonous tests, according to EN 594, and quasi-static cyclic tests, according to ISO 16670, in order to analyse the wall's ductility, strength and stiffness degradation. Various combinations of one- and two-storey building set-ups were also tested on the shaking table and subjected to recorded and modified accelerograms. The tested set-ups present a starting point for finite-element modelling that will result in a more comprehensive parametric study.