Experimental and simulation studies on flexural strength of laminated glass using ring-on-ring and three-point bending test

Flexural strength of laminated glass is noteworthy in architectural, glazing, automotive safety, photo-voltaic, and decorative applications. The flexural strength of laminated glass samples having polyvinyl butyral/ethyl vinyl acetate interlayer of different critical thickness (0.38/0.76/1.52 mm) was determined by ring-on-ring test following the ASTM C1499-15 and also by three-point bending test (for an interlayer of 0.38 mm thickness) following the ASTM D790-03. The effect of inter-layer type and inter-layer thickness on flexural strength is evidently reported from this brief study. The significance F-statics value during regression analysis shows the strong association of flexural strength with inter-layer types and inter-layer thickness, and P-value shows that the error in the analysis is within considerable limits. It is also concluded that the laminated glass samples with polyvinyl butyral interlayer have comparatively lower load capacity than laminated glass samples with ethyl vinyl acetate interlayer for same interlayer and glass thickness. The inter-layer thickness has more prominent role in the determination of load capacity in case of ethyl vinyl acetate laminated glass samples. There is an increment in average load capacity with an increment in critical inter-layer thickness in laminated glass. A finite element analysis is also carried out for simulating the experimentation and obtaining the variation of displacements in the laminated glass samples at their load capacity. The output of the finite element analysis fairly describes the fracture pattern (based on deformation and stress) of the laminated glass samples. The conclusions may be utilized for the selection of suitable laminated glass and predicting failure of laminated glass while used in various structural, automotive and other applications.