ABSTRACT

Windborne debris impacts are the primary cause of architectural glass failure during severe windstorms. The combination of missile impacts and lateral wind pressures can lead to the breaching of building envelopes, resulting in extensive damage to the building and its interior. A multi-year project is being conducted at Penn State University and the University of Missouri-Rolla to develop a design method for laminated architectural glass systems which resist this type of damage. This design method is based on the “sacrificial ply” concept, which permits the exterior-facing, outer glass ply of a laminated glass unit to fracture during windborne debris impacts, but prevents fracture of the inner glass ply. Results of experimental testing are used for the validation and calibration of a finite-element prediction model being developed as part of this project.