Keywords

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Extruded glass, Glass bundle, Glass connections, Bridge, Truss structure, Glass rods.

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Project duration

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2018 (12 months)

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Initiated by

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Ate Snijder, Rob Nijsse

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Research Team

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Ate Snijder, Rob Nijsse, Christian Louter

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Collaborators

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Schott

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About

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In the spring of 2016 an innovative steel bridge with glass diagonals, the Glass Truss Bridge, was placed over the 14 meter wide canal surrounding the Green Village of the Delft University of Technology. The bridge has been fitted with as many glass components as was structurally feasible, showcasing the group’s research into the structural application of glass in the built environment. The diagonals in the truss are glass bundle struts and the nodes of the truss are cast glass components. The lenticular truss will serve as a temporary bridge. Because of the experimental nature of the truss, with its unusual and novel applications of structural glass, a number of demonstrative proof loadings were performed to ease concerns about the safety of the structure. The glass bundles have been proof-loaded to twice their maximum expected load just prior to their installation in the structure. The whole bridge, once installed, has then been proof-loaded for several critical load combinations (static and dynamic) just after installation. One of the tests, held on the 16th of May 2016, was performed by 60 students marching and dancing over it. During the proof-loading the strains in the glass diagonals have been measured. These lie well within the acceptable limits.