Towards an integrated safety approach for glass structures

Existing methods to asses the safety of glass structures are insufficient. Although it is generally recognized that a (codified) probability analysis does not consider all relevant structural safety aspects, individual safety demands on structural glass elements, besides a maximum failure probability, are often not entirely clear in their aim, as well as not related to each other. There is a lack of identifiable element safety properties. As a result, there is much confusion and discussion in professional practice. In an attempt to achieve some clarity in the debate and to obtain objective criteria to compare structural glass designs with regard to safety, the Integrated Approach to Structural Glass Safety is proposed. Four properties of the glass elements are defined: resistance, damage sensitivity, redundancy, and fracture mode. They are graphically combined in the Element Safety Diagram. Several underlying concepts, such as load transfer mechanisms, initial and final failure, and damage, are also introduced. Performance requirements can be formulated to which each element safety property can be checked. Together, the defined safety properties and performance criteria form a new approach to structural glass safety.