Wind-Induced Vibration and Wind-Driven Rain Performance of a Full-Scale Single-Skin Facade Unit with Vertical Protrusions

Abstract

Vertical protruding elements are popularly used for building aesthetics, solar shading, and reduction of energy demand. However, no sufficient design guidelines are available yet for wind loading on curtain walls, especially those with vertical protrusions. In addition, water intrusion tests carried out by curtain wall manufacturers use static or pseudo-dynamic wind loads according to available testing manuals which are not realistic to simulate extreme wind and wind-driven rain conditions. This study investigates the influence of vertical protruding elements on the overall wind actions on a single skin façade using full-scale testing. The results show that vertical protrusions can increase the pressure around the protrusions and the wall (as evidenced by increased pressure coefficients) by as much as 30% and 19%, respectively. Furthermore, the vertical protrusions used in this study increased the overall stiffness of the curtain wall system, which led to an increase in the vibration of the glass units. Wind-driven rainwater intrusion tests on a façade unit without vertical protrusions indicate an increase in water penetration with wind speed at vulnerable joints (i.e., joints with windows) and less than 5 mL at the non-vulnerable joint at all wind speeds tested.