The effect of natural outdoor exposure environment on the strength of tempered glass panel
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Date
2019-06
Authors
Lim Shau Hui
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Abstract
This study was done to determine the effect of natural outdoor exposure condition on the
strength of glass panel. Tempered glass was chosen as the glass material to be used for
the test. Four (4) sets of sample (D0, D40, D80 and D120) were prepared for direct
exposure to the environment. These four (4) sets of sample were exposed to the
environment for 0 day, 40 days, 80 days and 120 days respectively. A total of three tests
were conducted on the tempered glass samples. They are microscopic observation, four
point bending test and compression test. Based on microscopic observation, the surface
characteristic on the tempered glass was determined. The surface defects observed
including surface scratches, bubbles and dust. The amount of surface scratches for
sample D0, D40, D80 and D120 are 1, 4, 9 and 10, respectively. Next, the tempered glass
specimens were tested by four point bending test. The bending strength and residual
strength were calculated based on the experimental data. From the results, it shows that
the bending strength and residual strength of the glass panel reduced as the duration of
exposure to the environment increased. Then, compression test was carried out on the
glass fragments after the destructive test by four point bending test. 10 glass fragment
samples from each sample were used to carry out the test. Based on the graph plotted, it
shows a trend where the compression strength decreased as the duration of direct
exposure to the environment increased. From the results obtained, it shows that the
tempered glass material tends to undergo deterioration in strength as a result of
weathering process. Hence, the environmental behaviour should be taken into
consideration when it comes to the design of structural glass which will be exposed
outdoor.