Abstract
Results are presented of a pilot study conducted recently at the Pennsylvania State University Building Envelope Research Laboratory (BERL) to investigate the response of anchored applied film on 1/4 in. (6 mm) annealed monolithic architectural glass under simulated earthquake conditions. Three commonly used film-to-frame anchoring methods for applied film installation were evaluated: (1) structural silicone adhesive (1/2 in. (13 mm) triangular cross section) along the glass panel perimeter; (2) aluminum bar to anchor the film to the frame horizontal along the top of the glass panel; and (3) two aluminum bars to anchor the film to the frame verticals along the vertical sides of the glass panel. Serviceability (glass cracking) and ultimate (glass fallout) limit state data were collected during in-plane dynamic racking tests. Other performance characteristics, such as cohesive failure of the structural silicone adhesive, loss of film-to-glass adhesion, film tearing, damage to aluminum anchor bars, pullout of the filmed glass unit from the frame glazing pockets, and eventual entire unit fallout, were also recorded. These preliminary tests indicated that anchorage type can demonstrably influence both the serviceability (initial glass cracking) and ultimate (glass fragment fallout and entire unit fallout) limit states of filmed glass panels. Moreover, the structural silicone anchor provided the best serviceability limit state performance of the three anchor methods tested, and the top anchor provided the best entire unit fallout resistance.