From the beginning of the 21st century, thin glass has been used as a screen protector for electronic devices and smartphones. During the last 10 years, several studies have been carried out to introduce the thin glass in the building industry. The advantages of this material are light weight, high strength and high flexibility. On the other hand, thin glass, due to its low thickness, has a limited bending stiffness. Therefore, it is challenging to apply this innovative material in the building field. Within this research, the stiffness of thin glass is increased by the realization of a thin glass cold bent sandwich panel.
The proposed sandwich panel is realized by using thin glass faces and a 3D printed polymeric core. Due to the high flexibility of the glass, the material can be easily bent and glued to the core. The curved core hold the cold bent glass in shape without the use of any frame.
To validate the numerical results, laboratory tests have to be carried out. The design of the curved sandwich panel revealed to be a feasible façade panel proposal. The feasibility is defined in terms of a structural façade element, which fulfill the limits of safety and comfort. The curved sandwich panel, proposed in the final design, results to be 280 times stiffer compared to a curved two layered thin glass laminated panel.
Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the proposed sandwich panel could guarantee a weight reduction of more than 80% in comparison to the glass used nowadays in building façades. This characteristic not only facilitates the assemblage of the façade, but also can bring to the usage of a lighter support structure. This can bring advantages both in terms of cost of the total structure and energy required to assemble the building.