Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Corner Cold-Bending Stresses in Laminated Insulating Glass: A Case Study

Abstract

Cold-bent glass curtain walls have been widely adopted in landmark buildings due to their remarkable economic and low-carbon advantages. To investigate the stress state of insulated laminated glass under the corner cold-bending condition, this paper, based on glass samples from actual engineering projects, proposed a cold-bending test method suitable for large-sized glass samples and analyzed the stress distribution characteristics by combining the finite element method (FEM). The results show that: (1) The maximum principal stress concentrates near the midpoint of the short side, with relatively high stresses also observed in the central area. (2) The FEM predictions agree well with experimental measurements, with errors remaining within 20% for most measurement points. (3) Under corner cold bending, the glass deformation exhibits a fan-shaped distribution, and the stress distribution between the inner and outer glass panes differs significantly. On the upper glass surface, stresses are primarily concentrated in the diagonal region and increase towards the edges. In contrast, the stress on the lower surface of the glass is significantly influenced by the clamping method and the supporting frame, leading to pronounced stress concentrations. These findings provide practical guidance for the engineering design and numerical simulation of cold-bent insulated glass curtain walls.