Explosion-protective façades reduce the consequences of a detonation in front of a building. Coordinated materials and components in the façade absorb the blast wave in such a way that the people in the building are not injured and the primary load-bearing structure of the building remains undamaged. Laminated safety glass plays a decisive role in explosion protection. When broken, laminated safety glass can deform like a canvas, so that the reflected peak pressure and the load on the glass support and the building are lower than with a rigid, unbroken pane. At the same time, the laminated glass must not tear in the middle when broken and the glass support must not fail.

Numerical simulation plays an important role in the safe design of facades exposed to explosions. This makes it possible to study different influences.

The input variables required for the numerical simulation are determined with the aid of impact tube tests or in specifically developed alternative tests with the following objectives:

• Behaviour of different types of glass
• Influence of the edge fixing
• Influence of the interlayer

With these basic principles, it will be possible to assess the impact of explosions on facades. This represents a significant expansion of current practice, which in many cases only assesses the individual window. This will create opportunities to exploit optimization potential in the areas of economy and safety. This will also make it possible to prepare tests for the qualification of individual constructions in a targeted manner and improve their informative value.

The FKG promotes and supports research projects and theses in this field and carries out its own projects, the results of which are available to member companies:
Burmeister, A.; Kranzer, C.: Laminated safety glass under blast loading – Experimental investigations, FKG internal report, 2005.

Kuntsche, J.K.: Mechanical behaviour of laminated glass under time-dependent loading and blast loading, Springer 2015

Wellershoff, F.; Förch, M.: Short-term strength of glass – surface tensile strength of glass under high strain rates, FKG internal report, 2017

Wellershoff, F.; Förch, M.: Laminated glass – Explosion, shear bond effect and high strain rates, FKG internal report, 2018

Förch, M.: Analysis of Glass Panels subjected to Blast Loads, Springer 2019