Numerical Investigation of Structural Behaviour of Timber-Glass Composite Beams

Abstract The current trends in modern architecture are focused on minimising the boundaries between the external environment and interior of the building. This requires a continuous increase of the amount of translucent surfaces allowing natural sunlight to enter the building, not only in facades but also through interior structural elements. The research project on timber-glass composite beams is based on an assumption that timber and glass work together to carry external loads. Glass no longer acts as a filling, as in traditional solutions, but actively participates in load transfer. The paper presents result of numerical study on modelling of brittle failure (cracking) of glass. The influence of element geometry, element size and value of fracture energy on the structural performance were analysed. From these studies the optimum model parameters were chosen for final models of timber-glass composite beams. Subsequently, the models were validated by comparing their results with experimental studies.

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