Curtain Wall Design Research Articles

Exploring the optimization potential of thermal and power performance for a low-energy high-rise building

In this study, a novel high-efficient energy-saving vacuum BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic) curtain wall, which combines photovoltaic curtain wall and vacuum glazing technologies, was developed and investigated. This vacuum BIPV curtain wall can not only perform on-site power generation, but also significantly reduce the heat transfer through the building envelope with improved thermal insulation. The thermal and power performance of the vacuum PV glazing were investigated by experiments and numerical simulations. A prototype of the vacuum BIPV curtain wall was set up for a short-term outdoor testing to consolidate its thermal and power performance under typical weather conditions of Hong Kong. A comprehensive energy model was then developed to predict the dynamic power and thermal performance of the vacuum BIPV curtain wall to evaluate its annual energy saving potential compared to other advanced window technologies used in buildings in Hong Kong. Based on the simulation model, an optimum design of the vacuum BIPV curtain wall was proposed. In addition, the annual energy-saving potential for a typical high-rise commercial building with the application of miscellaneous BIPV products was estimated using the typical meteorological data. BIPV characteristics were jointly optimized with other passive architectural design parameters and the net building energy demand can be decreased by up to 60% compared with a benchmark office building in Hong Kong. The target of near-zero energy high-rise building can therefore be further approached by this integrated design optimization process.

Design and Fabrication of Aluminum Cladding and Curtain Wall of a Sports Club

The paper discusses the design, fabrication and the execution of the cladding supported by steel trusses and curtain wall of a sports club. The cladding and the curtain walls were subjected to a wind load of 1.2 Kpa considering basic wind speed of 25 m/s as per the project specifications. The first part of the paper deals with the cladding work of the canopy that consist of a 4 mm thick aluminium composite panels supported by steel trusses extended from the main structure. Two types of steel trusses were provided, the main truss connected to the space truss, whereas the intermediate truss connected to channels. Both trusses were spaced at 2.5 m centre to centre. These trusses were fabricated at factory and transported to the site for installation. The second part of the paper is related to the curtain wall design having Maximum Mullion spacing of 2 m, considered as worst scenario for the design calculations. The maximum Mullion height was 5.55 m, adopted in the calculations with bottom and top pinned connection. The Technal system was adopted for the design of mullions and transoms. Design was carried out using numerical modeling with CSI SAP2000 for cladding and its supporting structures. The bracket was realized and checked for the corresponding induced forces. All the structural systems were found safe according to different acceptance criterion.

Numerical investigations of the connections between cold-formed steel curtain walls and reinforced concrete slabs

Cold-formed steel curtain wall is a very practical way to protect building from variety of external impacts, such as wind, seismic load, rain, temperature difference etc. This paper is focused on structural aspects of the curtain wall design, specifically on the design of the bolted connections between cold formed steel and concrete slab. External walls of high-rise buildings are subjected to significant wind and ice loads. The paper is based on the experimental and numerical research of the connections. It is important to design connections, which would not perform as thermal bridges. Methods of curtain walls installation are also considered in this paper.

Climate Change and its Influence on Glazed Curtain Wall Design

ABSTRACTThe climate change is a fact and has huge influences on the design of modern building envelopes. The climate change and its effects were analyzed and a management plan for a holistic curtain wall design was developed that helps to reduce the material loss and human suffering and that improves the reconstruction process. A first step of this is an energy efficient curtain wall design that results in a CO2 reduction and influences the frequency and intensity of the climate change as a whole. Secondly, special designed digital simulation processes offer possibilities to check and fine‐tune product characteristics that minimizes the vulnerability in case of extreme weather events. Acute event management can be done by combining disaster prediction tools with early alert systems that can be used to release a home protection service which, for example, shuts down self‐controlled shutters in case of a hurricane. The last step of the management plan deals with a fast recovering of the environment after a natural disaster. Building components are classified into two groups depending on their significance for the curtain wall. Class A components should not be affected in case of an event as they are responsible for the structural stability of the curtain wall or are very expensive. Class B components are cheaper design features or protection devices that are allowed to get damaged and must be designed for easy access and replacement. A final evaluation of the management plan gives information where current glazed curtain wall design provides already good solutions and where additional action and innovation is needed.

Numerical investigation of a novel vacuum photovoltaic curtain wall and integrated optimization of photovoltaic envelope systems

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the thermal and power performance of a novel vacuum photovoltaic insulated glass unit (VPV IGU) as well as an integrated design optimization of photovoltaic envelope systems. A prototype office building model with a curtain wall design is first constructed in EnergyPlus to compare the heat gain, heat loss, thermal load, lighting energy and PV generation for different curtain walls. The comparative analysis proves the excellent thermal insulating performance of VPV IGU, which can reduce up to 81.63% and 75.03% of the heat gain as well as 31.94% and 32.03% of the heat loss in Hong Kong (HK) and Harbin (HB) respectively. With the application of VPV IGU in all available facades of the prototype building, net energy savings of 37.79% and 39.82% can be achieved in diverse climatic conditions. Furthermore, screening and variance based sensitivity analyses are conducted to prioritize building integrated photovoltaic design parameters with respect to specific weather conditions. The selected important design parameters are then optimized with the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), by which the optimum building design can achieve a net energy consumption reduction of 48.72% and 60.80% compared to benchmarking designs in Hong Kong and Harbin. Such an integrated design optimization can successfully improve computation efficiency with an acceptable solution accuracy, and assist the incorporation of PV envelop systems with passive architectural designs. The novel VPV IGU is determined to be more suitable for cold areas where the curtain wall design should also be avoided for energy conservation.

Application of Glass Fiber Reinforced Cement in Exhibition Decoration Project

Through the study of GRC material and its application field, the aesthetic characteristics and functional characteristics of GRC materials are demonstrated. The decorative application and technology of GRC material in an art exhibition center are highlighted. The design, application and construction technology of GRC curtain wall and ceiling board in the interior and exterior decoration of art exhibition hall are discussed in detail. The unique advantages of GRC materials in exhibition engineering decoration are fully reflected. In practical design application, the application principle and method are summarized, and an application procedure is formed. The research proves that GRC materials in the art of building decoration engineering has an underrated advantage.

Numerical assessment of vibration control systems for multi-hazard design and mitigation of glass curtain walls

Glass systems and facades are widely used in building structures, due to a multitude of aspects. Beside these motivations, from a pure structural point of view, glazing envelopes represent one of the most critical components for multi-storey buildings under the action of exceptional loads as impacts, explosions, seismic events or hazards in general. Such systems represent in fact the first line of defense from outside. Given the current lack of specific design regulations for the mitigation and enhancement of glass curtains under extreme loads, as well as the typically brittle behaviour and limited tensile resistance of glass as material for constructions, the same facades require specific, fail-safe design concepts.In this paper, the feasibility and potential of special mechanical connectors interposed at the interface between a multi-storey primary building structure and the enclosing glazing facade are investigated via accurate Finite-Element (FE) numerical models, under various impact scenarios. At the current stage of research, careful consideration is given both to the observed global performances as well as to local mechanisms, based on computationally efficient FE models inclusive of damage models to account for failure mechanisms in each system component. Compared to earlier research efforts, the attention is focused on the multi-hazard performance of a given case study building, subjected to extreme loadings such as seismic loads or blast events. As shown, even the typically different features of the examined loading conditions, when the proposed vibration control devices are properly designed and the curtain wall is considered as part of a full 3D building, the final result is an overall assembled structural system in which the glazing facade can work as a passive control system for the building system, in the form of a distributed Tuned-Mass Damper (TMD), with marked benefits in terms of protection level as well as design optimization.

Problems Associated With Curtain Walls

The curtain wall design involves a complexity of elements responsible for performing different functions, which is the key prerequisite for holistic approach to construction and implementation of systems. This paper deals with specific problems associated with curtain walls, as presented in the case study of a new, single-family home of a villa design in Belgrade. The aim of this paper is to present effective ways to overcome the problems of water leakage and negative thermal impacts of solar radiation on curtain wall, which is caused by common mistakes made during the construction and implementation phase. The paper identifies potential causes that restrict the use of this facility. The main research method is expert analysis, carried out through on-site observations and detection of explicit evidence, as well as through direct access to the project’s technical and photo-documentation from the contractors. The results of the paper describe the construction measures to be applied to some parts of the glass façade of the house, in order to prevent further deterioration and reduce the negative impact on the users.

Discussion on Structure Design and Optimization of Building Curtain Wall

To discuss the structure design and optimization of building curtain wall, the dynamic characteristics of point supported glass curtain wall system are analyzed by the finite element method. The various technologies are made use of, and according to the characteristics of the structure system, the finite element analysis model with steel structure glass plate beam element and shell element as the basic elements is established. Then, the dynamic characteristics are analyzed, and the modal parameters such as inherent frequency and vibration type are identified. The research results show that the node displacement response power spectrum under the load of wind is obtained, which provides the basis for rationally optimizing the structure. Based on the above findings, it is concluded that the optimization design based on finite element model has a wide significance, which is a useful attempt to reduce the blindness of design and has great engineering significance and application value.

某方形截面超高层建筑风效应风洞试验与荷载规范对比研究

以钦州北部湾中心主塔楼为研究对象，利用刚性模型测压风洞试验详细研究了该方形截面超高层建筑表面的极值风压分布特性、塔楼主体的风荷载以及风致加速度响应，并将试验结果与荷载规范进行了对比。结果表明：极值负压为幕墙设计的控制风压，荷载规范对建筑立面中心区域的极小风压系数的取值偏于不安全，对拐角区域的取值偏于保守；塔楼主体的基底弯矩等效静力风荷载由平均风荷载控制；风致加速度响应表现为明显的横风向效应。本文所获结论可为类似项目提供参考。 Based on the wind tunnel tests of rigid model of the major tower of Beibu Gulf Center in Qinzhou, characteristics of the extreme wind pressures, overall wind loads acting on the square super high-rise building and wind-induced acceleration responses have been investigated in detail. The test results show that the extreme negative pressures are the controlled pressures for the curtain wall design; the suggested values in the Code are unsafe at the center of the building while conservative at the corner of the building. The equivalent static wind loads of the base moment are controlled by the mean wind loads. The wind induced accelerations present obvious across wind effects. The results obtained from this paper could be referred to similar projects.

Aluminium Framing Members in Facades

Curtain wall systems are considered as envelop of a building, generally made of a lightweight material such as aluminium. The curtain wall façade does not carry any weight from the building, rather it transfers loads that are incident upon it to the main building structure through connections with floors or columns. This paper addresses some key issues in satisfying the respective limit state design checks. Two mullion profiles 85mm and 125mm deep of three manufacturers are analysed showing that the different extrusions of mullion profiles does not have any drastic effect on its structural behavior. Due to the versatility and lightweight, aluminum has many advantages when used as a curtain wall framing material, but it has the distinct disadvantage of being three times more deformable than steel. Therefore, the fulfillment of serviceability limits is an important issue when designing the framing members, in order to avoid damage of connected glasses. Also, the importance of connections and steel insert are highlighted. Finally, some completed and in-progress ALUTEC projects with different curtain wall systems are presented. The paper is therefore interesting for the Façade Engineers involved in the design of curtain walls.

Impact of Curtain Wall Configurations on Building Energy Performance in the Perimeter Zone for a Cold Climate

The Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) approach is used to quantify the impact of nine curtain wall design parameters on the energy consumption of an office space in the perimeter zone of a typical office building in Montreal. The uncertainty analysis shows that the variation in curtain wall configurations has generally a greater impact on the cooling followed by heating, lighting and total energy consumption. The global sensitivity analysis shows that the window wall ratio is the most significant design parameter influencing the end-use energy consumption.

Advances in Photovoltaic Materials for Building Integration

Solar energy is inexhaustible and renewable energy, lower in cost, sustainable and independent resource for producing electricity through photovoltaic systems. Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system became one of the most promising technologies and recently experienced extraordinary growth. There is a consensus that these advancements lead to novel methods of domestic energy generation. This paper deals with design and analysis of unitized curtain wall with photovoltaic system for a proposed office building, which is having Curtain wall area of 4890 m2. Using photovoltaic system in Unitized Curtain wall spandrel area to produce electricity through solar energy is an innovative method utilized in the proposed corporate office building. Recyclable materials like Aluminium, Glass and sealant are used in Curtain wall. By using Building Integrated Photovoltaic System (BIVP), 50% of Electricity required for the building is produced and its relative merits and cost are discussed.

Cleaning Machine Design of Building Glass Curtain Wall

This paper designs a new type of building glass curtain wall cleaning machine safely and effectively, which can replace artificial cleaning operations, This washing machine is mainly composed of crawling mechanism and cleaning mechanism designed through the modular design method.First of all, under the premise of correct and reasonable function decomposition,this article discuss about the overall movement scheme and control part design in sequence. Secondly,based on the 3 d design software Solidworks,the author built the virtual prototype model of building glass curtain wall washing machine in order to motion analysis and then ensure the rationality of the design.Finally,in view of the existing design, further improvements and optimization suggestions are presented , at the same time, the developing foreground of this machine was prospected.

Review: Metropolisarchitecture and Selected Essays, by Ludwig Hilberseimer

Ludwig Hilberseimer Metropolisarchitecture and Selected Essays , edited by Richard Anderson. New York: GSAPP Sourcebook, 2012, 367 pp., b/w illus. $19.95 ISBN 9781883584757 Ludwig Hilberseimer’s Metropolisarchitecture is a remarkable book. Troubling in some respects, utterly compelling in others, it occupied a particular space in Weimar architecture culture, as a theoretical excursus in which architecture and urban design are given the charge of altering social organization. The book resonates very differently today, and to review a book first published in 1927 is also to consider its appearance in 2012, when the very question of architecture’s agency has resurfaced with some urgency.2 Metropolisarchitecture redefined architecture in its day, subdividing it, targeting one particular subset for research ( metropolitan architecture), and demonstrating the possible ramifications of such research on mass transit, worker relations, and market speculation. In addition to anticipating contemporary debates on activism through architecture, Metropolisarchitecture encourages reflection on the constitution of the profession today, when architects define themselves as experts in material systems, in digital fabrication, in health care architecture, or in curtain wall design. These are not the subdivisions of Hilberseimer’s schema. If Metropolisarchitecture suggested long ago that we parse architecture more finely, the point of doing so was to better connect to things such as work, mobility, and socioeconomic status, not simply to maximize profitability. Translated into English for the first time in 2012, and published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning (GSAPP), the newly released text is laid out systematically. The author first defines terms and then moves through an orderly analysis of big-city building types, from residential to industrial. The text concludes with a chapter titled “Metropolisarchitecture,” pendant to the opening chapter, “The Metropolis,” in which Hilberseimer laid out the challenge he then met in subsequent chapters—conceiving and engineering the organic machine of the modern industrial city, the citta fabbrica , as it would later be called (350). The main text is supplemented by two …

Experimental program and simplified nonlinear design expression for glass curtain walls with low-level blast resistance

A series of fi full-scale, nearly conventional, curtain wall specimens was tested in the UNC Charlotte Structures Laboratory. Specimens were subjected to quasi-static, uniform, out-of-plane loading to failure under displacement control. The tests were performed to obtain complete resistance curves, including the nonlinear behavior of the specimens up to ‘ultimate failure’. Ultimate failure was defi ned as mullion fracture or signifi cant breach of the curtain wall system when viewed as the protective barrier between building occupants and the external blast load. Representative load-defl ection and loadstrain resistance curves are presented. The energy absorbed by the curtain wall system up to three different limit states ‐ fi rst cracking of glass, fi rst yield of mullions, and fracture/breach of the system (ultimate failure) ‐ and maximum mullion end rotations are computed from the experimental results. Ultimate energy absorption capacity ‐ the recoverable linear strain energy plus the nonlinear energy due to formation of damage mechanisms ‐ and maximum mullion end rotations are essential for reliable and economical design of blast resistant curtain walls. To this end, a simplifi ed methodology is presented for analytically approximating curtain wall resistance functions that can be input to an energy expression that models nonlinear structural dynamic behavior due to an ‘impulsive’ loading. The blast resistance of a curtain wall can then be approximated using this procedure. It is shown that a nearly conventional curtain wall, a conventional system with two modifi cations ‐ use of laminated glass lites that are structurally glazed (wet-glazed) to a conventional framing system with structural silicone sealant ‐ had nearly 14 times the ultimate energy absorption capacity and nearly four times the blast resistance as the fully conventional system.

Pressure Distribution of Dynamic Water Penetration Tests for Curtain Walls

Abstract A wind generator is used for producing a wind stream equivalent to the required wind velocity pressure for dynamic water penetration tests for curtain walls. A two-phase experimental program was carried out. In the first stage, the calibration of the wind generator was conducted following AAMA 501.1-05 procedures. In the second stage, the dynamic pressure distribution on the surface of the test chamber for curtain walls was studied. Discussions of the experimental results are presented, as well as new design aids for curtain wall design. Some of the experimental results and conclusions could be useful in the future for comparisons between laboratories having similar electric-fan-based test systems.

The Italian National Guidelines for the fire safety of facades

Traditionally, the facades' design buildings where once only focused on architectural or aesthetic purposes (in addition, of course, of whether protective issues). Nowadays, thanks to the technological development of the construction works and the use of new types of materials, the facades' design should also address fire safety related aspects.In Europe and especially in Italy – where the types of building facades are built with windows of small surface and natural stone coverings – the green building/sustainability movement has resulted in the development of new concepts in facade or curtain wall design that intended to enhance the energy efficiency of building facades. These new building surfaces are covered by extensive panelling fitted with insulating materials or by wide glass surfaces, capable of carry out the most diverse purposes including, just to name a few: energy reduction, climate comfort, recovery of electricity through photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity, large space for advertising purpose.One of the main fire safety goal for a building design is to restrict the vertical fire spread so that the smoke and flames are limited to the fire origin floor. The new building facade and curtain wall topologies could overwhelms concerns for fire safety, therefore the Italian National fire service has released a Fire Code Guideline in order to address the fire safety design for an high rise building facade. This paper aims to show the guideline contents and the related fire safety facades concerns.

Energy-Efficient Curtain Wall Design for Super High Rise Building — A Case Study on Curtain Wall Design of Guangzhou Fortune Plaza

Taking the curtain wall design of Guangzhou Fortune Plaza, a high-rise in Guangzhou, as example, this paper discusses the technical approach for improving energy-efficient performance of curtain wall in terms of energy-efficient glass selection, the design of external sun-shading elements and the construction detail that can facilitate the natural ventilation, so as to enhance acclimatization of curtain wall in Lingnan Area

Construction Technology Research on Super Glass Curtain Wall of the Henan Art Center

Henan Art Center has a new curtain wall structure - the structure cable net glass wall. Because of the cable net structure for glass curtain wall construction and design difficulties, the design of curtain wall performance to deepen the main points of cable net structural wall of the working principle, design connections, cable net structural wall of the cable construction steps, cable pre-stressing and tension when the technical parameters and under the glass curtain wall materials and installation was introduced. And the main factors affecting the performance curtain wall and the cable tension when the ambient temperature and the tension stress was studied. The results showed that the construction program was optimize and construction quality and safety was ensure.