The research of this thesis is focussed on the thermal insulation and structural properties of a thin glass composite panel with 3D-printed polymeric core.

Aluminosilicate glass, used in this research, is only 0,5 mm thick. This aluminosilicate can be used to replace current windows and structural façade element to reduce the use of scarce, raw materials. Due to its flexibility, a lightweight, trussed polymeric core is used to stiffen the glass. The core and the glass now act as a sandwich panel. The core is produced through additive manufacturing and an UV-curing glue is used to bond the core to the glass. Three different arrangements of the sandwich panel are tested. The first panel has a trussed pattern with an angle of 51˚, now called ‘standard pattern’, the second panel an angle of 67˚, now called ‘dense pattern’, and a third panel has three glass layers and two layers of a trussed pattern with an angle of 51˚, now called ‘double pattern’. The panels are tested with a heat flow test for their thermal insulation properties and a compression test to determine the failure mode of the panel, to check if the panel is structurally safe to use.

This research shows that the ‘double pattern’ panel almost meets the thermal insulation regulations of today. The panel will meet the regulations with some small improvements as using a gas instead of air an applying a coating. The failure mode of is delamination, this means that the panel is not safe to use as a load-bearing façade element. But the test showed that the panel can bear their self-weight, when increased to 1,245 x 3,2m.

Keywords: thin glass, PET, trussed pattern, thermal insulation, heat flow test, structural behaviour, compression test.