Contribution of the Glass Cladding to the Overall Structural Behaviour of 19Th-Century Iron and Glass Roofs

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE Department of architectural engineering Department of structural engineering Contribution of the glass cladding to the overall structural behaviour of 19th-century iron and glass roofs Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor in de Ingenieurswetenschappen (Doctor in Engineering) - VUB Doctor in de Ingenieurswetenschappen: bouwkunde (Doctor of Civil Engineering) - UGent by Leen Lauriks © 2012 Leen Lauriks 2012 Uitgeverij University Press Leegstraat 15 B-9060 Zelzate Tel +32 9 342 72 25 E-mail: [email protected] www.universitypress.be ISBN 978-94-6197-098-5 All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Research funded by a Ph.D. grant of the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) i Members of the jury Prof. Dr. Ir. Tine Tysmans President Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions Prof. Dr. Ir. Luc Taerwe President Ghent University – Department of Structural Engineering Prof. Dr. Ir. Rik Pintelon Vice-President Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Department of Fundamental Electricity and Instrumentation Prof. Dr. Ir.-Arch. Ine Wouters Advisor Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Department of Architectural Engineering Prof. Dr. Ir.-Arch. Jan Belis Advisor Ghent University – Department of Structural Engineering Prof. Dr. Inge Bertels Secretary Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Department of Architectural Engineering Prof. Dr. Linda Van Santvoort Secretary Ghent University – Department of Art, music and theatre sciences Prof. Ir.-Arch. Charlotte Nys Member of the jury Vrije Univeristeit Brussel – Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions Ghent University – Department of Architecture and Urban Planning Building industry – ORIGIN Architecture and Engineering Prof. Dr. Ir. Luc Schueremans External member of the jury University of Leuven – Department of Civil Engineering Building industry – Frisomat Dr. Ir. Edwin Huveners External member of the jury Building industry – Volantis iii Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors Ine Wouters and Jan Belis. Without their help with finding my way in the research world, this research would not have been possible. Thank you for your comments, advice, and continuous encouragements. I want to thank Michael de Bouw for guiding me through the first stages of my research. Thank you for inspiring me with your enthusiasm and for your friendship of the last five years. Tine Tysmans, Luc Taerwe, Rik Pintelon, Inge Bertels, Linda Van Santvoort, Charlotte Nys, Luc Schueremans, and Edwin Huveners, thank you for the expensive time and efforts you invested in this research as members of the jury of my PhD. Your questions and constructive comments improved the quality of this research. I would like to express my gratitude to the master thesis students that contributed to parts of this research: Eleen Liekens, Natasja Van Den Brande, Haike Bulinckx, Kostas Anastasiades, and Maarten Van Craenenbroeck. Thanks to everyone who gave me access to or information about the investigated case studies: Willy De Moyer (Regie der Gebouwen), Christel Dardenne (Nationale Plantentuin van Meise), Kristel De Vis, Marlous Peijnenborg (Glasmalerei Peters), Vandenberghe Patrick (Tekenbureau Antwerpen-Centraal), Charlotte Nys (ORIGIN Architecture and Engineering), Bill Addis, and Ross Wilson (Scotland Heritage). For the help with finding written, published and iconographic documents, I want to thank the Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience, the "documentatiecentrum Bestuur Ruimtelijke Ordening en Huisvesting van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijke Gewest" (Directie Monumenten en Landschappen), the "Archives d'Architecture Moderne", and Gustaaf Janssens from the Archives of the Royal Palace. For technical advice and help with the experimental part of this research, I would like to thank Geert Uvin (Aalterpaint), Johan Sevenants (NMBS Holding), Baeck & Jansen NV, Peter Poot (HQ Bonding), and Erik H. Botter (TNO). Thanks to Steven Vandebril and Filip Van Mieghem from Soudal for their help, information and opportunity for carrying out some of the experiments at their lab. Thanks also to Bas Out and the TU Delft Adhesion Institute for providing me with their knowledge and the infrastructure for the experiments. Thanks to Arno Van Hulle, Dieter Callewaert, Freek Bos (Ghent University), Frans Boulpaep, Daniel Debondt, Gabriël Van den Nest (VUB MeMC), Iris De Graeve, Jean Vereecken, Marnix De Pauw, Marc Raes iv (VUB SURF), and Heidi Ottevaere (VUB TONA) for helping with the preparation and the analysis of the samples. I would like to thank all my colleagues of the last five years from the ARCH department at the VUB for creating such a wonderful place to work. I will miss you, the drinks on Friday, and the spontaneous laughter and joy. The last year I also spent some time in Ghent. Thank you Arno, Dieter, Jonas, and the other colleagues, for the unforgettable lunch times (including the party games). Special thanks go to Delphine, without whom I would never have succeeded in finishing the Abaqus simulations. Thanks to my family for always being positive and supportive. Tom, thank you for always being interested and helpful. Rodrigo, you live on the other side of the world, but this distance doesn't matter, you are an indispensable part of my close family. Els, I cannot express how much I miss you. Thank you for cheering for me, for being there whenever I need you. For the both of you, I will come to visit you as soon as I can! Papa, thank you for being the best dad I could ever wish for. And mama, I hope you are proud. Sebastiaan, the last months were hard, but it didn't feel that way because you were standing by me. For taking care of me, for loving me, for being there, thank you! v Abstract (English) To determine the historical value of an iron and glass roof structure, insights into the global structure and the way it was built, the applied materials and their fabrication, and the applied connections have to be gained. By means of an extensive literature study of 19th-century course books and manuals, and 20th- and 21st-century overview books, the development of the iron and glass architecture, the evolution in the construction details and the alteration of the glass production process during the 19th-century was investigated. The production processes of cast iron, wrought iron, and steel underwent major changes during the 19th century. The application of iron and steel in building construction expanded and an architectural vocabulary specific for iron construction was formed. Glass manufacture however stayed a traditional process until the beginning of the 20th century. The traditional manufacturing methods were nevertheless continuously improved, thus providing the possibility to increase the production volume and the quality of the produced glass. The great innovation of the 19th century however was the application of glass in architecture in combination with iron. The slender iron frames cladded with glass allowed light to penetrate to the core of the buildings. New building types, originating from the Industrial Revolution like railway stations, exhibition buildings, shopping galleries, and glasshouses, used this possibility at full extent. Chemical analysis of glass can be used to date historic glass, if this chemical analysis can be linked to the evolution of the glass production process. The specific Belgian situation in 19th-century glass industry (the economic conditions, the available raw material resources, etc.) is studied. A timeline gives an overview of the evolution from 1790 until 1915 of the economic situation, the maximum glass plate dimensions, the raw materials, the melting furnaces and the processing technology. This timeline can be the start of the development of a methodology to date 19th-century Belgian window glass. The construction techniques of 19th-century iron and glass constructions contribute to the specific historic value of these buildings. The slender iron glazing bars covered with a high number of small overlapping glass plates define its distinguishable look. The construction techniques are investigated based on manuals and course books from 1847 until 1919 and confirmed by all investigated Belgian case studies. The most often used connection detail comprises a T-shaped iron glazing bars where glass plates of 3 to 4 mm thickness are placed on and sealed with putty. Systems for puttyless glazing were developed to avoid the intensive maintenance of putty connections, however were only rarely used in Belgium. vi When renovating 19th-century iron and glass roofs, the question arises how we can preserve this built heritage but make the construction fulfil the modern standards on safety and structural integrity. The heritage value of the whole construction and of the separate components establishes the boundary conditions in which the possible interventions are defined. Possible renovation strategies were illustrated by three case studies, discussing how modern standards and heritage value can be combined. In 19th-century iron and glass roofs, glass plates were placed on the iron glazing bars using traditional linseed oil putty. Experimental research shows that linseed oil based putty can have significant compression stiffness, so forces can be transmitted

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