DefinePK

Abstract

Architects are not fond of columns because they obscure views and interrupt space. Previous work has focus on columns made of glass as it creates an interesting visual feature because of its uniqueness i.e. its transparent characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural performance of the basic tubular single glass column (SGC) and a combination of more than one tubular single glass columns, bundled (BGC) using structural silicone sealants. A series of compression test were carried out on several different geometrical dimensions of tubular single and bundled glass columns to determine their failure mechanism, load carrying capacity and to evaluate the buckling performance. The structural performance to evaluate the column failure behaviour i.e. crushing or buckling was carried out by looking at the effect of different geometrical dimensions and shear connections in the bundled system. This study showed that the failure mechanisms depended strongly on the slenderness ratio of the columns and failure occurred either by crushing or by buckling depending on the column lengths. The scatter in the failure load for specimens that have a higher slenderness ratio was much lower than for those which have lower slenderness ratio. The variations in the strength of similar size glass columns has shown that the existence of the Griffith flaws strongly influenced the glass behaviour. In order to justify the variability of the glass strength, a Weibull statistical distribution has been used. The BGC is an alternative for use as a structural glass column because the structural silicone sealants incorporated into the structure is capable of bonding multiple tubes together. The low modulus of the structural silicone sealant suggests that its capability to achieve a full composite section in the BGC was remarkable.