Long-term effects on structural glass beams

Structural glass is a very trendy material in the construction industry. However, there are several aspects that are not yet covered by existing design regulations. One of these aspects refers to long-term effects, which are known to highly influence the behaviour of structural glass systems. The present paper partly addresses these aspects by means of an experimental research, inclusive of a series of long-term full-scale four-point bending tests. The specimens consisted in laminated glass beams composed by annealed float glass plies, bonded by Sentry- Glas®. The tests included fractured and intact models, to evaluate the long-term mechanical behaviour of the beams under influence of environmental temperature, before and after breakage. The results revealed the behaviour of the models was highly dependent on the temperature fluctuation.