Post-Disaster Survey and Analysis of Glass Curtain Wall under Influence of Super Typhoon “Meranti”

Abstract

Typhoon “Meranti” made landfall in the city of Xiamen in Fujian province with the maximum wind speed 60 m/s in the center of the typhoon. It caused large economic losses in Xiamen with the severe damages in the glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings. Survey of damaged glass curtain walls was conducted right after the typhoon, including damage amount, damage type and damage level of glass curtain walls. Experimental structural experiments and numerical simulations of wind environment were performed to investigate the failure patterns of glass curtain walls. The causes of damage are analyzed with respect to design criterion, construction, and material. Finally, improvements on the criterion of glass curtain wall design, optimization of wind environment and construction method are proposed to reduce typhoon damage effectively in future.