SEDL / STP / STP1069-EB / STP26794S

Sealant Stresses in Structural Glazing: A Mathematical Model

Vallabhan, CVG
Professor of Civil EngineeringResearch Engineer, Texas Tech UniversityComputerized Structural Analysis Research Corporation, CSA-NASTRAN, LubbockLos Angeles, TXCA

Chou, GD
Professor of Civil EngineeringResearch Engineer, Texas Tech UniversityComputerized Structural Analysis Research Corporation, CSA-NASTRAN, LubbockLos Angeles, TXCA

Pages: 20    Published: Jan 1990

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Abstract

Silicone sealants are used to structurally connect the glass plates of an insulating glass (IG) unit and they are used between the IG unit and the supporting mullion. Thus, the sealants become an integral part of the overall glazing system. Design engineers have to compute stresses and deformations of the glass plates as well as the forces in the sealants when the overall system is subjected to lateral pressures such as wind. By use of von Karman' s nonlinear theory of plates and Boyle's law of ideal gas, the complex interaction between the plates, the air trapped inside the IG unit, and the elastic behavior of the sealants is modelled mathematically. Some numerical examples are shown as illustrations.