The Effect of Glass Panes in Side Walls on the Load-Bearing Properties of Bus Bodies

Glass panes represent a significant portion of the weight of vehicle construction and consequently it is desirable to make use of load-bearing properties of the panes. A bus sidewall was studied with respect to window mounting by both adhesives and by rubber frames for purposes of investigating the deformation of the grooved window joints. The paper develops relationships for these deformation processes on the joints and on the bus body as a whole.

The bending stress of the window frames can be considerably lessened by the window panes. This possibility is more pronounced and safer with windows attached by glue rather than through rubber frames. A simplified model for the deformation processes leads to the use of diagonally-aligned panes of glass for greater load-bearing. The subsequent use of lower stress values in the dimensioning of window frames allows for sufficient safety factors until comprehensive experimental results become available.