Structural integration of glass in yacht superstructures through adhesive bonding – A numerical analysis

Abstract

Large luxury yachts often include expansive windows in their designs. The current method of bonding the glass window panes to the supporting structure using a flexible adhesive often necessitates reinforcement in the metallic structure as window size increases. This paper explores an alternative solution where glass is structurally integrated into the yacht. The challenges of integrating glass using structural adhesive bonding is investigated using finite element analysis, focusing on yacht loads and structural deformation. A novel yacht concept with an expansive glazing structure is utilized for this investigation. Following a global load analysis, it is concluded that the glazing structure plays a near negligible role in global strength. Subsequently, a parametric study of the glazing structure is performed under local yacht loads, considering different adhesive bond stiffnesses and glass panel thicknesses. The adhesive bonds are modelled using a contact function with cohesive behaviour. An adhesive Young’s modulus ranging from 500 MPa to 2000 MPa resulted in acceptable stresses and deflections of the glazing structure. A submodel of a region of the glazing structure is created for a more realistic representation of the adhesive material. The geometry of the adhesive significantly affects the magnitude and distribution of stresses within the adhesive material, which the contact function underestimates. Stresses in the adhesive are compared to the strengths of an epoxy adhesive with similar elasticity, but stresses are close to the epoxy’s limits. It was also found that the curvature of the glazing structure plays a role in the deformations experienced by the adhesive bonds.