Development of a Mobile Device for the Evaluation of the Current in Situ Stress Condition in Glass

Abstract

In present-day practice, monitoring the installation process and the utilisation of glass and hybrid components, e.g. glass/steel or glass/plastic, has become increasingly important. To date, the quality control options for built-in glass is limited. It is not yet possible to provide a clear short-term statement regarding a potential irregular stress; this may arise due to the incorrect assembly of a glass fitting, for example. There are no accepted standard procedures to evaluate the in-situ stress condition of a built-in glass. The intention of this paper is to address this gap with the aid of photoelasticity as an indirect measuring method in a coordinated way with numerical simulation based on finite element analysis. To measure the two-dimensional qualitative stresses in glass and plastic components, a concept and a functional model for a mobile device, including user software, will be developed. By recording photoelastic measurements with this proposed mobile measuring unit, a qualitative statement about the glass stress behaviour for bonded and mechanical connections can be defined and converted into a quantitative statement via a correlation of experimental and numerical results. This article describes the associated framework for experimental investigations and numerical simulations for bonded and mechanical joints in glass constructions.

Keywords

• load-bearing glass
• in situ stress condition
• photoelasticity
• finite element analysis
• design
• mobile device