ADVANCED STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

CSIIT

BATCH 10-15
CURTAIN WALLS AND ALUMINIUM PANELS
History and definition
 The first steel-framed skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago (1883), introduced the concept of the
curtain wall, an exterior cladding (made in this case of masonry, not glass) supported at each story by the steel
frame, rather than bearing its own load to the foundation

 In common usage, the term curtain wall usually refers to aluminium framed systems carrying glass panels,
louvers, or occasionally, granite or marble. It is any non-load-bearing exterior wall that hangs (like a curtain)
from the face of floor slabs, regardless of construction or cladding material.

 advantages
  Less exterior wall thickness and hence, more interior floor space

 Less weight and smaller foundations are more economical

 Prefabricated, standardized units are usually used, increasing insulation and sealing qualities

 Since curtain walls offer many materials to choose from, they are usually more aesthetically pleasing than
traditional surfaces

Requirements of a curtain wall

 Selection and design criteria include:

 Code Compliance

 Structural Integrity

 Weather-ability

 Energy Efficiency

 Condensation Resistance

 Building Movements

 Ventilation and Cleaning Access

 Sustainable Design

 Durability

 Cost

 Aesthetics

Structural stability
 Designed to withstand wind loads and provide adequate glass edge flexural support, curtain walls can be,

 simply supported, with curtain wall mullions anchored only at their ends;

 twin span, with mullions spanning two floors and anchoring at the intermediate floor or other structure;
or

 continuous span, with the system’s vertical mullions spliced at points of zero moment (inflection points).

 These are listed in order of increasing structural efficiency, but before deciding on an appropriate strategy,
movements and the ability of the structure to support dead loads must be considered.

Types of curtain walls

 Storefront

 Stick Wall
  I-Beam Wall

 Pressure Wall

 Unitized Wall

 Window Wall

Storefront

 Storefronts are non-load-bearing glazed systems that occur on the ground floor, which typically include
commercial aluminum entrances. They are installed between floor slabs, or between a floor slab and building
structure above.

 Typically field-fabricated and glazed, storefronts employ exterior glazing stops at one side only. Provision for
anchorage is made at perimeter conditions.

 While sometimes used as a low-cost alternative curtain wall system for low-rise buildings, performance
requirements for storefront are generally less stringent, and materials may require more frequent maintenance.

Stick curtain walls

 

 Stick systems are shipped in pieces for field-fabrication and/or assembly. These systems can be furnished by the
manufacturer as “stock lengths” to be cut, machined, assembled, and sealed in the field, or “knocked down”
parts pre-machined in the factory, for field-assembly and sealing only. All stick curtain walls are field-glazed.

 Frame assembly requires the use of either,

 shear blocks to connect vertical and horizontal framing elements,

 screw-spline construction, in which assembly fasteners feed through holes in interlocking vertical
stacking mullions into extruded races in horizontals

I beam curtain walls

  Once very popular, I-Beam walls have seen market demand decrease.

 I or H-shaped, structural, vertical back members are set into openings in the field, with horizontals then clipped
to verticals.

 After glazing, extruded aluminium interior trim is cut and snapped into place at vision areas. Since unexposed
spandrel areas receive no interior trim, savings in material and finish painting or anodizing can result, partially
offset by added field labor.

Unitized curtain wall

 To accomplish sealed and easily assembled, unitized curtain wall systems have been developed.

 Unitized curtain walls are factory-assembled and -glazed, then shipped to the job site in units.

 Most unitized curtain wall systems are installed in a sequential manner around each floor level, moving from the
bottom to the top of the building, only one anchor per mullion needs to be attached to the face of the floor slab.
  Interlocking unitized curtain wall frame members are weather-stripped to seal to one another, both horizontally
and vertically.

 This accommodates thermal expansion and contraction, inter-story differential movement, concrete creep,
column foreshortening, and/or seismic movement.

Window wall

 Window wall systems span from the top of one floor slab to the underside of the slab above. Window wall
employs large, side-stacking window units, containing head and sill receptors, also called starters, which
accommodate movement and drainage, but require field-applied perimeter sealants.

 Slab covers can be fabricated from aluminium extrusions, sheet, panels, or even glass.

 Window walls easily accept operable windows, and unlike curtain wall, can easily be installed non-sequentially.

Pressure curtain walls

  Many stick curtain walls are called “pressure walls,” because exterior extruded aluminium plates are screwed on
to compress glass between interior and exterior bedding gaskets. A snap-on cover or is then used to conceal
pressure plate fasteners.

 Performance of any field-assembled or field-glazed curtain wall is only as good as field workmanship allows,
limited by variables such as weather, access, and job site dirt and dust.

 Many critical seals are necessary, even in systems that are designed to drain rain penetration from the system
back to the exterior.

Other types of curtain panels

Stone Panels- precast and attached to steel or concrete structure

• Lightweight Sandwich- interior metal liner with insulating panel, air gap, and ext. metal panel.

Failures
 Design failure – selection and appropriateness of the system, non-compliance to design and performance
standards, imperfection in the jointing design and detailing, improper use of materials etc.

 Construction and structural failure – wrong location or method of fixing, improper anchorage and connection
provision, failure in the walling components, unpredicted deflection or deformation appears in the background
structure, poor supervision and workmanship.

Aluminium panels
  Aluminium has become an essential product for the building industry and over the past 50 years its use in
building applications has shown continuous and consistent growth. This is due to factors like:

 strength,

 durability,

 corrosion resistance and

 recyclability

Uses of aluminium panels

 Window frames and other glazed structures ranging from shop fronts to large roof superstructures,

 Roofing, siding, and curtain walling and

 Cast door handles, catches for windows, staircases, heating and air-conditioning systems.

 Most recently, aluminium has played a significant role in the renovation of historic buildings.

Advantages of aluminium panels

  Lightweight, good rigidity and strength,

 Non-flammable, good fire resistance,

 Excellent weather resistance of surface,

 Good formability, it can be formed to plane, arc, and complicated shape such as sphere and tower,

 Hard-to-stain, easy to clean and maintain,

 Wide range of colors optional, excellent decoration effect and

 Easy to recycle, no pollution.

Requirements of aluminium panels

 Wind load calculation

 Tray dimension

 Panel joints

 Panel layout

 Abutment details

 Maintaining colour shade and grain

Finishing of aluminium panels

  Anodising involves the application of natural or coloured oxide films through an electrolytic process. The
anodised surfaces of aluminium construction products are hard and durable, often outlasting the life expectancy
of the buildings in which they are used. They offer excellent corrosion resistance and, being smooth, are easy to
clean.

 A wide range of fade free surface finish colours are available, in high, medium or low gloss formulations.

 Painted surfaces can be produced either by coating individual products or by continuous “coil coating”.

Availability of aluminium panels

 Sheet thickness :3mm, 4mm and 6mm, with 3mm being the standard gauge.

 Sheet sizes :1020mm, 1220mm and 1500mm x 2440 or 3000

 Colours & finishes: A variety of colours are available , with custom colour matching available, subject to
minimum order quantities. Aluminium composite panel is also available in primed, white stove lacquered finish,

Bonding and joining

 Aluminium panel may be riveted, bolted, screwed or nailed using aluminium or stainless steel fixings.

 Aluminium composite panels can also be hot air welded using polyethylene welding equipment.

 For bonding Aluminium composite panels to a flat surface, double sided tapes or a rubberised construction
adhesive may also be used.