Elastic strain energy and failure behaviour of glass elements

In this paper it will be shown elastic strain energy release is a key parameter for the post-failure resistance of a structural glass element, as it influences both the post-failure compressive capacity through the crack pattern, and the post-failure tensile capacity, through shock loading of the tensile component at initial failure. The complex relation between elastic strain energy and other parameters will be discussed, based on experimental research on a range of beam designs subjected to 4-point bending after the application of different levels of predamage. It will be concluded the initial hypothesis has to be nuanced, most importantly with the remark that the relative importance of crack pattern density decreases with increasing stiffness of the tensile components.In this paper it will be shown elastic strain energy release is a key parameter for the post-failure resistance of a structural glass element, as it influences both the post-failure compressive capacity through the crack pattern, and the post-failure tensile capacity, through shock loading of the tensile component at initial failure. The complex relation between elastic strain energy and other parameters will be discussed, based on experimental research on a range of beam designs subjected to 4-point bending after the application of different levels of predamage. It will be concluded the initial hypothesis has to be nuanced, most importantly with the remark that the relative importance of crack pattern density decreases with increasing stiffness of the tensile components.C