Earthquakes represent a significant hazard to facade systems, with documented damage to glazing and facade components in numerous seismic events worldwide. Despite the increasing use of structural glazing (SG) joints in modern facade construction, current design standards provide no explicit provisions for seismic loading, representing a critical gap in engineering practice. This work investigates both the load-bearing and failure behavior of SG joints under seismic actions, as well as the characterization of seismic loading demands, with the objective of developing an engineering-oriented design approach. Experimental investigations under low-cycle fatigue loading revealed that while initial load-bearing behavior was comparable to quasi-static conditions, failure behavior differed fundamentally with loading control type. Force-controlled tests, representative of all-glass constructions, produced sudden complete failure after steadily increasing deformations. Displacement-controlled tests, representative of conventional facade systems, resulted in gradual stress relaxation without complete failure at test termination. An energy-based failure criterion was introduced to consistently define the number of cycles to failure across both conditions. The classical Basquin model was extended by a linearly proportional frequency-dependent term, which captured the observed frequency dependence of fatigue life with high accuracy across different joint geometries and loading configurations. Seismic loading was characterized through a parametric simulation framework using single-degree-of-freedom systems and a database of real ground motion records. Response histories were converted into equivalent load cycles via the frequency-dependent fatigue model, enabling derivation of frequency-dependent design parameters, including the seismic reserve factor \(k_\mathrm{sr}\), which quantified the increased load-bearing capacity of SG joints under seismic conditions relative to quasi-static reference strengths. Four verification methods of increasing complexity were developed, ranging from a simplified approach treating seismic loading as a variable action to an advanced method incorporating a frequency-dependent \(k_\mathrm{sr}(f)\). For practical application, a fixed seismic reserve factor of \(k_\mathrm{sr} = 1.25\) and a global safety factor for seismic loading \(\gamma_\mathrm{meth,s} = 2.67\) were proposed. The proposed framework directly links experimental fatigue characterization, seismic demand analysis, and engineering verification, providing, for the first time, a consistent and application-oriented design of SG joints subjected to seismic actions.     «

Earthquakes represent a significant hazard to facade systems, with documented damage to glazing and facade components in numerous seismic events worldwide. Despite the increasing use of structural glazing (SG) joints in modern facade construction, current design standards provide no explicit provisions for seismic loading, representing a critical gap in engineering practice. This work investigates both the load-bearing and failure behavior of SG joints under seismic actions, as well as the chara...     »