At different research institutes in and outside Europe, research is in progress to find pieces of the structural glass puzzle. At Ghent University, the focus is on glass beams.

In the present contribution, the authors want to highlight some experiences of the past and current activities concerning buckling problems of glass beams. It is the authors' opinion that at the current state of technological development, glass beams with a rectangular cross-section are by far the most realistic starting-point. Such geometry implies a slender cross-section, which is sensitive to lateral-torsional buckling.

Some concepts are compared in order to deal with lateral torsional buckling of laminated glass beams.

By means of experimental tests on monolithic glass beams and numerical simulations on corresponding models, it has become clear that stability (buckling) instead of strength can be the limiting factor of the load-carrying capacity of glass beams, especially if strengthened or tempered glass is used.

It is also shown that prevention of buckling can increase the load-bearing capacity considerably. Several configurations for buckling prevention are proposed and compared, varying from fixed local supports to continuous supports comparable to elastic foundations. In many cases, the elastic sealants used to connect the beam to the supported glass plates suffice to realize the desired buckling prevention. This support is not brought into account in today's practice.