Development of a Finite Element Model of Glass Balustrade Under Soft Body Impact Test

This paper presents a finite element (FE) model developed to analyze the behavior of glass balustrades under soft body impact test to simulate the human impact loads. The LS-DYNA explicit FE code is used to perform the FE analysis. In the initial stages of the research, field investigations were conducted to study the support conditions, glass types, and the response of glass balustrades to different loading cases in Sri Lanka. A case study of a failure of glass balustrade in a building due to heavy wind loading is discussed in this paper, highlighting the need for a proper and safe design approach for glass balustrades in Sri Lanka. The numerical results obtained from the LS-DYNA FE model were validated against the EN 12600:2002 European standard, which gives the experimental results of the in-plane strains of the tempered glass plate. In addition, the material properties used for the glass plate and impactor and the boundary conditions are thoroughly discussed in this paper. Finally, the results of the field investigation and numerical model reveal critical insights into the design and construction of glass balustrades.