Determination of material and model parameters of hyperelastic silicone bondings in structural glass construction

Adhesive bonding using silicones with hyperelastic material behaviour is often the choice for glued connections in glass construction. However, there are restrictions from authorities regarding the use of adhesive joints for glass. Regarding design, the European Technical Approval Guideline 002 for silicone kits is the only normative document to be used. Therein, a calculation method is recommended which is based on nominal normal stress with the acting force on the adhesive bond area. However, this is very vaguely and part of the reason why the safety factors are excessively high. Nowadays, FE calculations are often used for the design of a bonded joint in structural glazing. The material of the adhesive then is often described by hyperelastic material models like those of Ogden or Mooney-Rivlin. Yet, those material models and their derivation are very complex. Furthermore, the determination of the parameters for the use in FE calculations is very tedious. This paper gives an overview on the state-of-the-art and describes different tests as well as the determination of the material parameters within the program and gives an outlook on a newly developed material model.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the use of silicone adhesive bonding in glass construction, highlighting the restrictions from authorities and the design guidelines specified in the European Technical Approval Guideline 002. It also examines the use of finite element calculations for design and the challenges in determining material parameters, as well as introducing a newly developed material model.