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Thermal stresses in double-glazed windows

From National Research Council Canada

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Affiliation
  1. National Research Council of Canada. NRC Institute for Research in Construction
FormatText, Article
Subjectthermal stresses; double glazings; breakage; finite element method; window breakage; thermal stresses; glass temperatures; shadows; double glazing; finite elements; Heat performance; contrainte mécanique; vitrage double; rupture ( fracture); méthode des éléments finis
Abstract
Using finite elements, the authors studied temperatures and thermal stresses in 1.41 m wide by 2.12 m high sealed double- glazed windows of 6-mm glass with a 12-mm air space between panes. The purpose was to find factors significantly influencing thermal stresses. Three types of commercially used windows subject to winter conditions (day and night) were analyzed: both panes clear glass; outer pane heat absorbing and inner clear; and outer clear with a metallic film on its room-side surface and inner clear. A sensitivity analysis included variations in size of window, gasket and sealant stiffness, frame absorption, solar heat flux, exterior air film conductance, and outdoor air temperatures (-5 and -25!C). Further, the influence of horizontal and vertical shadows was studied. For the calculation of thermal stresses, the authors found that the windows could be analyzed pane by pane rather than as a three-dimensional structure. Solar radiation and particularly shadows had a major influence on thermal stress, while window size and aspect ratio did not. A case study in which the predicted temperatures were compared with those measured by Sasaki in 1974 showed good agreement and indicated that a similar steady-state rather than transient thermal analysis gave a close estimate of the temperature difference between the centre and edges of panes for design against thermal breakage.
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  • Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 15, no. 5 (October 1988): 807–814.
LanguageEnglish
Peer reviewedYes
IdentifierIRC-P-1577
NRC numberNRCC 29910
NRC-IRC-3553
NPARC number20375536
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Record identifiere0f5f36c-130e-409d-8672-e721dbcfe234
Record created2012-07-23
Record modified2020-06-06
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