Development and Manufacturing of Highly Damage Resistant Fiber Glass Reinforced Window Panels for Buildings in Hurricane Prone Areas

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This project attempts to develop and manufacture a new fiber-glass reinforced transparent laminated glass window to alleviate the breakage of glass panels during windstorms. The proposed glass panel will consist of an outer glass ply; a fiber glass reinforced plastic (polyester) ply, and an inner glass ply. Subsequently the reinforced panels will be subjected to extensive testing and fracture analysis under simulated windstorm conditions.The goal is to obtain maximum toughness and an optimized glass composite panel, which is highly damage resistant, lighter and cheaper than the present panels. The study will also focus on the effect of the variations in the interface properties such as adhesion between layers and the interface fracture toughness. Interfacial properties between glass and polyester matrix will be studied by carrying out fiber pull-out and nanohardness tests using an Interfacial Force Microscope (IFM), a scanning force microscope capable of performing nanomechanical measurements and imaging. Stress field equations will be developed for a crack in the istropic-anistropic bimaterial interface. These stress field equations will be combined with the orthotropic stress optic law to analyze the isochromatic fringe patterns around an interface crack tip under mixed mode loading to determine the stress intensity factors. The body of knowledge generated and experience gained from this effort will be useful in developing other similar types of panels based on different composite systems in future. Also other agencies involved in producing advanced materials for civil infrastructure and transport systems can benefit. The successful implementation of the experimental and analytical approaches and fabrication of the proposed product (the composite-glass panel), will have a lasting effect on several industries and businesses, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge and science of composite materials. Collaboration with an industrial partner in Saint Louis has been established to facilitate the manufacturing and utilization of the glass reinforced panels.