Current applications in buildings of structural glass elements frequently require design rules and formulations able to provide acceptable predictions for phenomena complex to describe, which depend on combination of several geometrical/mechanical aspects. The estimation of the buckling resistance of glass elements, for example, represents a topic of large interest for researchers, due to typical high slenderness ratios, limited tensile strength and brittle behavior. In the paper, the buckling response of glass columns under impulsive orthogonal pressures (e.g. blast) and combined static compressive vertical loads (e.g. gravity loads or further service loads) is investigated. Advanced numerical nonlinear dynamic simulations are performed on various laminated columns, by means of 3D numerical Finite Element (FE)-models able to take into account the interaction of simultaneous loads and possible glass cracking. Analytical calculations are then carried-out by means of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) formulations, to correctly estimate blast and second-order effects on maximum deflections and corresponding tensile stresses. Finally, based on the good correlation generally found between numerical/analytical calculations, a design approach is proposed for practical estimation of buckling strength in the analyzed loading and boundary conditions.
