Testing and simulation of simple and prestressed laminated glass beams

• Experimental bending resistance tests were performed on both simple and prestressed laminated glass beams. • The material properties of annealed glass at room temperature were experimentally determined. • Detailed numerical models were developed to simulate the bending resistance of simple and prestressed laminated glass beams. • A comparative assessment of different constitutive models for glass materials was conducted. This study presents an integrated experimental and numerical investigation into the structural behavior of simple and prestressed laminated glass beams. An experimental program employing four-point bending tests on annealed laminated glass specimens, with and without high-carbon steel prestressing cables, was conducted to evaluate load–displacement response, failure mechanisms, and post-fracture performance. Prestressed beams demonstrated marked performance improvements, achieving 75–88 % greater load capacity (40–47 kN versus 20–25 kN) and enhanced deformation capacity (13–25 mm mid-span deflection at failure compared with 5–8 mm). A complementary finite element framework was developed, incorporating Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) and Johnson–Holmquist-2 (JH-2) models for glass, elastoplastic behavior for prestressing cables, and a combined hyperelastic–viscoelastic formulation for the SentryGlas® interlayer. Prestressing was successfully simulated using a thermal analogy technique, achieving the target compressive stress of 26.5 MPa. The CDP-based model accurately predicted fracture initiation (within 1 % of experimental values) and effectively captured the three-phase failure progression of prestressed specimens, while maintaining computational efficiency. In contrast, the JH-2 model, despite offering a robust parameter set and strong performance in compression- or impact-driven fracture scenarios, showed limitations in accurately reproducing the tension-driven cracking behavior characteristic of glass beams under bending. These findings confirm that prestressing transforms the inherently brittle response of glass into a more ductile, controlled failure process, significantly enhancing both serviceability and residual performance. The validated modeling framework, particularly when using the CDP approach, provides a practical and reliable tool for structural engineers, enabling the design and optimization of innovative prestressed glass systems that combine transparency with enhanced ductility and safety in structural applications.