FULL-SCALE EXPERIMENTAL TESTING TO INVESTIGATE WIND-INDUCED VIBRATIONS ON CURTAIN WALL SYSTEMS

Abstract

Curtain walls are dominant cladding components of mid to high-rise buildings in modern architecture. However, the curtain wall systems have been observed highly susceptible to vibrations leading to component or system-level failure during recent extreme wind events. This paper studies the complex mechanisms of wind induced vibration (WIV) functionality at the system-and component-levels. A wind testing experiments for a full-scale single-skin façade panel was conducted at the Wall of Wind experimental facility (WOW EF) at Florida International University (FIU). Effect on the vibration of the curtain wall due to the addition of sunshade fin is also studied. The experimental protocol included testing the samples (with and without sunshade fins) at various wind speeds from 22.3 m/s to 40.1 m/s with 8.9 m/s intervals in open terrain. Effect of wind direction is also considered varying from 0 to 180 degrees with 45-degrees interval. The tests were performed on two sets of panels: (1) a polycarbonate panel (with the geometric properties maintained) to obtain dynamic wind pressure data; (2) actual glazing units that are instrumented with accelerometers and strain gauges at critical sensing locations. The experimental results indicate that the sunshade fins have a stiffening effect on the joints of the curtain walls while overall increasing the wind pressure on the panel. Dynamic amplifications on the glazing were in the order of 1.1 to 1.8 which underline the importance of studying dynamic effects on the façade systems.