Static and dynamic response of progressively damaged ionoplast laminated glass beams

This paper investigates the mechanical behaviour of progressively damaged laminated glass (LG) beams made with ionoplast interlayers. After the failure of one or more glass plies, the load-bearing capacity of LG beams depends on the capacity of the interlayer to provide coupling effect between broken and undamaged glass plies via adhesion and its own mechanical properties. Dynamic and static tests have been carried out on undamaged and progressively damaged LG beams. The comparison of experimental data with theoretical values obtained neglecting broken plies highlight that ionoplast interlayers assure the transmission of significant shear stresses between broken and unbroken plies, and glass fragments provide a ‘‘tension stiffening” effect to the interlayer. Further tests have been carried out on fully damaged LG beams to evaluate their residual load bearing capacity at the time of glass failure and after a five-month interval to assess effects of aging on the bond between ionoplast interlayers and glass fragments.