This case study presents the path to an all glass pavilion which was recently
erected at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Material Research in Dresden. The idea of a glass structure with no distracting bolts or clamps was developed from vision to final solution in close cooperation between client, architect, structural engineers, researchers, contractors and industrial partners. Four glass frames joined by transparent acrylate adhesives at their edges support the envelope of an all glass box.
Starting with the structural system the paper gives an in-depth description of the design approach. The outer glass shell and the supporting frames as well as the adhesive joint were numerically modelled. Essential material properties for the structural design of the bonded frame corner like Young’ modulus and Poison’s ratio of the acrylic adhesive could be determined by testing specimens which consisting only of the bulk material.
Beside the limit states under regular loads different boundary states of the structural system were analysed to evaluate its redundancy.
Based on previous research on acrylate adhesives a suitable test program for bonded frame corners was developed. Investigations started with a test sequence of small bonded glass-glass-specimens at different temperature levels. Additionally, the residual mechanical strength was investigated after artificial ageing. Attention has also to be paid to the manufacturing technology to match the high quality of an all glass structure.
Studies on relevant curing parameters and the bonding process performed on life-size frame corners showed successful and repeatable results.