Exploratory study on the use of bi-stable supports for the impact protection of point-fixed glazing systems

This paper is focused on the study of innovative bi-stable supports to improve the impact performance of point-fixed glass panels, for typical use in facades. To mitigate the effects of impact and reduce potential risk for people, the introduction of innovative, bi-stable, mitigation devices between the fixing system and the primary building structure is addressed. The proposed dissipative system is able to control and minimise the input force which is transmitted to the primary building, controlling the damage around the supports and preventing the detachment of the glass panels. Based on LS-Dyna Finite-Element (FE) models, the proposed protection system is designed to have a snap-through behaviour under impact. The performance of the system is quantified for two different glazing systems, which are numerically investigated under various impact configurations.