Numerical Approaches for the Analysis of Glass Facades Under Seismic Loads

In the last two–three decades, glass facades have gained more popularity due to their highly impactful esthetic and sustainable applications. However, their constitutive glass components are rather vulnerable and require proper analysis strategies to design them efficiently in structural terms, especially against extreme loads, such as earthquakes. To save time and costs, numerical approaches and simulations represent a powerful and versatile technique that can be used to predict the seismic behavior of glass facades under several loading and boundary conditions. Besides that, the lack of specific guidelines to support the model assembly and calibration for these analyses makes these steps uncertain and rather challenging. Among other open issues, this study collects and revises a selection of literature studies that emphasized the use of numerical simulations for glass facades subjected to earthquakes. Attention is focused both on framed glass facades and frameless (point-fixed) solutions. From the literature analysis, several modeling strategies emerge. Most importantly, difficulties and uncertainties in modeling complex glass facades are pointed out, especially with regard to the geometrical and mechanical optimization and the introduction of robust simplification approaches. It is observed that secondary components, such as setting blocks or gaskets, are often disregarded, which can have major consequences for the structural analysis and detailing of seismic effects in glass components.