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Silicones have been used on a large scale as sealant materials for pavement joints. Besides the fundamental advantages of sealants, several problems remain concerning failures such as fall-...

A research project was undertaken at Pennsylvania (Penn) State University to study the simulated seismic performance of Structural Sealant Glazing (SSG) used to adhere glass panels to common curtain wall framing systems. In the most common type of SSG curtain wall construction, referred to as two-sided SSG, two glass panel edges (typically opposing vertical edges) are adhered to the support framing using structural sealant, while the other glass panel edges are mechanically fastened to the support framing. In this study, full-scale two-sided SSG curtain wall mock-ups consisting of three, side-by-side glass panels were subjected to cyclic racking displacements to characterize their performance and to identify sealant and glass component failure modes under serviceability and ultimate racking displacement conditions. In addition to testing, kinematic-based models were developed to predict failure states (e.g., structural sealant failure) of the SSG curtain walls. This paper discusses the details of the pred...

Recent terrorist events have underscored the importance of designing glass curtain walls as engineered systems. For most building owners, however, it is usually an unjustifiable expense to have a curtain wall designed to provide a high level of blast resistance. This paper investigates the serviceability of an economical, nearly conventional, glass curtain wall system that provides a low level of blast resistance in appropriate applications. A conventional, split screw spline mullion system is utilized with laminated glass lites properly attached to the mullions with structural silicone sealant. The response of this system to service load conditions is first explored through static and dynamic experimental testing. A simple finite-element model of the system is then calibrated to low-amplitude static test results. Finally, the calibrated model is used to perform modal and transient analyses that are compared to experimental free vibration responses. The model was found to provide results that agree well with experimental responses, indicating that the primary properties have been adequately defined for reliable serviceability investigations.