Glass–GFRP Laminate: A Proof of Concept Experimental Investigation

This paper presents a proof of concept experimental validation of a novel Glass–Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) laminate. The Glass–GFRP laminate specimens were fabricated by combining two thin annealed glass sheets (i.e. top and bottom skins of the laminate) with a dry, porous three-dimensional (3D) GFRP core. Vacuum Infusion Process (VIP) was used to impregnate the dry 3D GFRP core as well as to connect the glass sheets and the GFRP core using a clear, acrylic resin in a single-step fabrication step. The paper shows that choosing right materials and fabrication parameters, VIP-based methods can be used to fabricate Glass–GFRP laminates. Although Glass–GFRP laminate shows less light transmittance at ~60-70% compared to annealed and PVB-based laminated glass at ~90-100%, the new laminate still ensured notable light transmittance capability. Bending test results showed the Glass–GFRP laminate ensured higher load capacity (~1000% and ~210% increase compared to annealed monolithic and PVB-based annealed laminated glass, respectively), and higher flexural stiffness (~10 times and ~4 times high compared to annealed monolithic and PVB-based annealed laminated glass, respectively). More importantly, compared to the reference glasses, the glass–GFRP laminate demonstrated significant load resistance in the post-cracked regime of the glass sheets and unlike the reference glasses, Glass– GFRP laminates did not fail in brittle manners.