Jan Ebert

Investigations and Testing of Full-Scale Glass Roofs for Individual Approval

The Technische Universitat (TU) Dresden is decisively involved in the development of a sustainable and transparent glazed roof structure. The designed transparent space grid structure is based on a conventional steel space grid, in which all steel members of the compression layer are replaced by glass panes. The glazing transfers large in-plane forces and serves as roof covering. Two full-scale mock-ups of a double layer space grid structure in the structure geometries half-octahedron plus tetrahedron and half-Vierendeel demonstrated the feasibility to build such new structures. To achieve an individual approval comprehensive testing was conducted. This included small sized testing of block elements for the local load application into the glass edge, in-plane stability tests, walk-on and post breakage behaviour tests and load bearing tests at roof strips of about 15 m length. In the structural tests the glazing had to resist a load with the safety factor of 3.0.

Components for Local Load Transfer at Glass Compression Layers

The Technische Universitat (TU) Dresden is decisively involved in the development of a sustainable and transparent glazed roof structure. The designed transparent space grid structure is based on a conventional steel space grid, in which all steel members of the compression layer are replaced by glass panes. The glazing transfers large in-plane forces and serves as roof covering. Prerequisite for these structures is the load application of significant compression forces into brittle glass edges. The intended detail design requires a contact material, which is softer than glass while providing a high compressive strength, low creeping and a large working temperature range. Different metal alloys and polymers were tested with regard to their compressive strength. Tests on their creeping behaviour started in 2008.

Sustainable and Transparent Glass Roofs - Concept and Geometry

Space grid structures are appropriate to cover large areas. They allow the realization of plain roofs. To improve the transparency of such structures a new type of sustainable and transparent double layer grids is developed. The strict replacement of all bars in the compression layer by glass panes significantly increases the transparency and saves material. The contribution describes the geometry finding for such structures. Basis for the research is the structure geometry of steel space grid structure that is extended to transparent space grids. As result of the research a full-scale mock-up of the most appropriate structure was built to demonstrate the feasibility.