New glass design method for adhesive point-fixing applications

Stress concentrations in glass plates connected with adhesive point-fixings are much lower than when connected with traditional bolted point-fixings. For the investigation of adhesive point-fixings, a complex finite-element model is usually required. Based on the method of superposition of local and global components SLG method, for bolted point-fixings, a design method is developed for adhesive point-fixings to simplify the finite-element analysis. This is done by separating the glass plate into a local and a global component. The local component represents only a part of the glass plate, with one adhesive point-fixing, and is modelled with more complex finite-element volume elements. The global component represents the entirety, and is modelled with less complex shell elements. The total stress distribution is obtained by superposition of the results of the local and global components. This paper describes how this method is developed and validated. The local numerical model is calibrated based on strain measurements obtained from experiments. The results show that the SLG method can be suitable for adhesive point-fixings as well, which enables a simplified and faster design.