Glass Curtain Research Articles

Impact of ventilation system type on indoor thermal environment and human thermal comfort in a ceiling cooling room

A ceiling cooling (CC) system integrated with a mechanical ventilation system is an advanced HVAC system for the modern office building with glass curtain wall. In this paper, considering the influence of heat transfer of external envelope, the indoor thermal environment and human thermal comfort were objectively measured and subjectively evaluated in a CC room with mixing ventilation (MV) or underfloor air distribution (UFAD). Indoor physical parameters and human skin temperatures were measured as the chilled ceiling surface temperature and supply air temperature were 17.1-17.6? and 22.2-22.6?. Simultaneously, 16 subjects (8 males and 8 females) were selected to subjectively evaluate the thermal environment. The results showed that the difference between mean radiant temperature and air temperature in the occupied zone was 0.8? with CC + MV and 1.2? with CC +UFAD, and the indoor air velocity was 0.17 m/s with CC + MV and 0.13 m/s with CC + UFAD. In addition, the calculated and measured thermal sensation votes with CC + MV were all slightly less than those with CC + UFAD. Therefore, ventilation system type had a slight impact on the indoor thermal envi?ronment and human thermal comfort in the CC room.

Glass Curtain Wall Applied in Large Depth and Low-Rise Building

Glass Curtain Wall Applied in Large Depth and Low-Rise Building

Experimental Study on Single Corner Cold Bending Mechanical Response of Laminated of PVB Interlayer Tempered Glass Panes and the Coupling Effect with Load.

The cold bending method is a type of curved glass curtain wall construction method that has been used in practical engineering for a short time. It has the advantages of simple operation, high efficiency and low cost. However, the mechanical response and properties of glass panes caused by cold bending have not been solved effectively. To study the mechanical response and the properties of cold formed laminated tempered glass panes after applying with a wind load, cold bending and load tests of 9 laminated tempered glass panes were conducted by the orthogonal experimental design method. The effects of cold bending curvature, glass pane thickness and interlayer thickness were considered. In this paper, the response law of cold bending stress to the curvature and the relationship among the influencing factors were analyzed. The variation process of stress, the deflection of cold-formed glass panes under uniform load and the characteristics affected by cold-formed stress and deformation were studied. The results show that the cold bending stress is distributed in a saddle shape, and the curvature has the greatest influence on the cold bending stress, followed by the thickness of the glass panes. The influence of the interlayer thickness is small. The maximum stress appears near the corner of the short side direction adjacent to the cold bending corner. The cold bending stress increases linearly with increasing cold bending curvature. The cold bending stress and deformation have little effect on the change process of the later stage load effect.

On the Paradigmatic Influence of the Bauhaus in the Nordic Countries

Presented here is a brief review of the route for and delayed time factor of Bauhaus influences, in particular via architectural journals, into the Nordic countries, as well as some examples of contemporary influence of the Bauhaus Dessau building’s plan form from 1926 in the public building type, the city hall. A question being raised is what types of assimilation can be noted, and not least, where and why they occur. By the 1950s, is it a consolidation of impulses and/or a changed paradigm for compositional analysis that we see?
 It turns out that there are clear examples of such influence notably in Finland both in competition projects from the 1930s and in the odd completed building, such as the town hall in the municipality of Valkeakoski, 1950-56. Here one also sees examples of architectonic solutions originating in the Deutscher Werkbund, founded in 1907, and subsequently in the Neue Sachlichkeit/New Objectivity ideology developed in 1923-33. The Deutscher Werkbund in its turn was influenced by innovative designer Peter Behrens and his AEG Turbine Factory in Berlin from 1909, as well as in architecture more directly influenced by the Bauhaus architect and leader Walter Gropius and Bauhaus ideas and practice. One such solution affecting building plans was, in particular, the side corridor system which is used in the Bauhaus bridge element. An architectonic device was the exposed staircase behind a large glass window which was to become ubiquitous. Meanwhile the glass curtain wall of course becomes a well-known feature, but as used mostly in other large-size building types. For this aspect of assimilation a major example of technologization characterized by self-serving aesthetics, in Rødovre city hall, 1954-56, in Denmark, will be discussed.

An Experimental Study on Cold-Bending Stress and Its Reverse-Coupling Effect with the Uniform Load on Cold-Bent SGP Laminated Glass

SentryGlas® Plus (SGP) laminated glass is a novel type of safety glass with high strength and stiffness. On the other hand, cold bending is a novel technique to build curved glass curtain walls, and is advantageous in terms of its greater energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness as well as its simple construction processes. The cold bending of SGP laminated glass could result in broad applications for the material and provide huge economic benefits in the field of glass curtain wall construction. To study cold-bending stress and its reverse-coupling effect with the uniform load in SGP laminated glass panels, single-corner cold-bending tests, uniform load tests, and ultimate capacity tests were conducted on eight pieces of such panels with different cold-bending curvatures and interlayer thicknesses. The results revealed that cold-bending stress in the glass panels under single-corner cold bending demonstrated a saddle-shaped distribution, with the maximum and second-largest cold-bending stresses located near the corner of the short side and the long side adjacent to the cold-bending corner, respectively. The cold-bending stress and coupling stress increased nonlinearly as the cold-bending curvature rose and the interlayer thickness became greater. Moreover, cold-bending curvature was a factor that affected the cold-bending stress and coupling stress more significantly than the interlayer thickness. The ultimate capacity and ultimate deflection of the glass panels decreased as the cold-bending curvature and interlayer thickness grew.

Field monitoring and prediction on temperature distribution of glass curtain walls of a super high-rise building

Temperature action has a significant effect on the behavior of a supertall structure but has rarely been investigated due to lack of knowledge on the actual temperature measurements. It would be of great significance to predict the time-pace temperature distribution of a high-rise building by using the general environmental monitoring data which is more easily acquired and has a close relation with structural thermal action. In this study, the actual temperature distribution of the exterior glass curtain wall of Shanghai Tower is investigated using the field monitoring data achieved by the integrated real-time Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system installed on the tower. The data recorded during 2018.1.1–2018.10.13 (283 days) are employed. A data-driven model is developed based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which is capable of predicting the temperature distribution of the curtain wall by using the environmental monitoring data including the wind velocity and direction measurements as well as the public weather information. Compared with the discrete temperature measurements at a few limited locations, the proposed model provides continuous time-space temperature distribution of the curtain wall, which adds insights into the knowledge of temperature actions for the maintenance of the Shanghai Tower and the design of glass curtain wall of a supertall structure.

Performance-Based Design of a Main Exhibition Hall and Its Ecological Connectivity with Surroundings

This study aims to verify which the performance-based design was successfully applied in the construction of the main exhibition hall of the first Hebei Garden Expo, China. Based on the idea of “equality and connectivity” among humans, buildings, and the environment, the exhibition hall was designed using digital shape generation technology, and a special double-skin structure was selected. A bright exterior glass curtain wall separated from the cell-shaped reinforced concrete (RC) structure, not only made the exhibition hall fit into the scenery so well, but also presented an adhesion area with functional links to the RC structure. Joints of the steel tubular truss and the glass curtain wall were optimally designed by means of finite element simulations. During the service of more than a decade, extension of space, function of interactivity, and energy conservation required for a green infrastructure were achieved, highlighting the ecological connectivity of the exhibition hall with the surrounding landscape. The exhibition hall performed synergy of structure and architecture functions and it is still a landmark building in Shijiazhuang, showing an excellent application achievement of the performance-based design.

Discussion on Installation Technology of Horizontal Embedded Glass Curtain Wall in Super High-rise Building

Discussion on Installation Technology of Horizontal Embedded Glass Curtain Wall in Super High-rise Building

Energy-saving performance of respiration-type double-layer glass curtain wall system in different climate zones of China: Experiment and simulation

The development of energy-saving technologies for buildings is an important means of achieving carbon neutrality. The respiration-type double-layer glass curtain wall (RDGCW) is a kind of enclosure structure with natural air circulation and a shading function. The RDGCW provides energy saving, and it is being widely promoted and used in China. However, there is still a lack of relevant research on the energy-saving effects and operating strategies of the RDGCW throughout the year. In response, this paper describes experimental evaluation and numerical simulation. First, the energy-saving effects in an office building using an RDGCW in Tianjin during the winter were studied experimentally, and the real-time temperature changes in the RDGCW and the room were measured with high accuracy under different operating strategies. Second, because the temperature distribution and energy consumption in a room is affected by the air flow in the RDGCW and by outdoor meteorological parameters in a complex manner, this investigation developed a coupled model on the basis of TRNSYS and CONTAM. The simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental results. Third, the verified model was used to evaluate the annual energy-saving effects of the RDGCW under dynamic outdoor meteorological conditions in Tianjin. When the optimal operating strategy was adopted, the energy-saving effect of the RDGCW in comparison with single skin façade (SSF) reached 32.8% under summer conditions and 38.3% under winter conditions. Finally, the RDGCW system in typical cities (Changchun, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Tianjin) in five climate zones in China was simulated for the whole year. Under the optimal strategy, the RDGCW achieved good energy-saving effects. The energy saving was 27.7–49.2% in summer and 25.6–46% in winter, in comparison with SSF.

Experimental characterization of a novel ventilation system for multi-story buildings with continuous curtain walls

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the results of an experimental campaign conducted on a recently developed fire protection system (FPS), specifically designed for installation on continuous glass curtain walls systems typical of multi-story buildings.Design/methodology/approachThe authors will first present the theoretical derivation of the relevant parameters to characterize and predict the fire evolution and probability of flashover, according to existing codes and standards. Then, the results of two full-scale tests will be presented in terms of temperature fields, thermal gradients and position of the neutral plane.FindingsThe experimental evidence shows how the proposed system is able to dramatically reduce internal temperatures in the rooms interested by the fire, also allowing for safer evacuation procedures by increasing the height of the neutral plane.Originality/valueThe novel window frame element comprises an automatic doubly convergent aperture system that induces ventilation in the compartment by increasing internal convection in the rooms subject to the fire. This allows for an efficient dispersion of hot gases and fumes and a drastic improvement in safety for both the occupants and firefighting operators. The theoretical results are then compared to the experimental evidence to evaluate the performance of the proposed ventilation system in the context of existing standards and design procedures.

Construction Technology of Energy-saving Glass Curtain Wall in Building Decoration Engineering

Construction Technology of Energy-saving Glass Curtain Wall in Building Decoration Engineering

In Situ‐Prepared Attachable Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Photovoltaic with Polymer Antireflection/Barrier Layer

As large‐area photon collection devices designed to convert sunlight into electricity, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have been proposed for more than 40 years. In practical sunlight‐harvesting applications, existing glass windows or curtain walls have to be torn down and then replaced by traditional LSCs with planar optical waveguides, leading to high manufacture and installation costs. One alternative and attractive approach is to design and manufacture LSCs that are compatible with and can be attached directly onto the original building glass windows, which substantially reduces the overall costs. Herein, a feasible strategy of attachable transparent LSCs is proposed, converting ordinary glass to LSCs by simply attaching novel luminescent films. By integrating a phenylethylammonium (PEA)‐assisted perovskite−PVDF composite film with a polymer antireflection/barrier layer, as‐prepared composite films show dramatical improvement in photoluminescence quantum yield from 4.1% to 45.8% (11‐fold enhancement), substantially increased optical transmittance from 30.9% to 71.1% (at 700 nm), as well as strongly suppressed photoluminescence (PL) quenching during the attaching process. The fabricated attachable LSCs demonstrate a maximum optical efficiency of 2.8% at the geometric factor of 5 and retain 87% of initial optical efficiency after 2 months of storage in ambient conditions.

Coupled deformation behavior analysis for the glass panel in unitized hidden-frame supported glass curtain wall system

As a kind of building envelope, glass panel has been emerging and widely employed in unitized hidden-frame supported (UHFS) glass curtain wall system in modern construction engineering. In practical service conditions, the large area of glass panels involved in the all-glass facades of UHFS glass curtain wall system usually expose to external wind loads, thus it is quite essential to focus on the coupled deformation of the glass panel caused by complex boundary constraints stemming from connected components and their interactions in UHFS glass curtain wall system. In this paper, the optical measurement system associated with the standard air-tight test chamber of UHFS glass curtain wall samples for DIC analysis of the glass panel was first established based on the theory of stereo vision and digital image correlation. Then, the conventional digital indicators and finite element analysis (FEA) models were employed to provide the actual and theoretical deformation information of the panel, which were used to demonstrate that the adopted DIC method had the unique advantage of characterizing full-field coupled deformation behavior of the glass panel affected by complicated boundary conditions. Consequently, the spatiotemporal deformation behavior of the glass panel in practical service conditions was investigated and thus the principal strain, maximum relative deflection (MRD) as well as strain energy density on the panel surface were accordingly evaluated. The above metrics could be used for failure risk evaluation and providing safety design suggestions for the glass panel in UHFS curtain wall system.

Monitoring of wind effects on a wind-sensitive hybrid structure with single-layer cable-net curtain walls under Typhoon Muifa

As a new type of building structure, the single-layer cable net (SL cable net) is widely used in many large landmark buildings with modern glass curtain walls. As a kind of wind-sensitive structure, the wind effects on the SL cable net is a problem that cannot be ignored. Therefore, a field measurement was carried out at the China Maritime Museum during Typhoon Muifa. The wind field characteristics and the wind-induced dynamic responses of the SL cable net during this typhoon were well studied. The relationship between the wind characteristics and the dynamic characteristics was analyzed. It was found that the vibration intensity of the SL cable net, unlike that of high-rise buildings, is not correlated with the time-varying mean but is positively correlated with the fluctuating wind speed. By using the method SSI and NExT, it was found that the low-order frequencies of the SL cable net are insensitive to the time-varying mean but have a negative correlation with the RMS fluctuating wind speed. The vibration of the SL cable net was proved to be a more direct cause of the phenomenon of frequency softening. Reasons of this phenomenon were discussed in this paper. At last, damping ratios of the SL cable net were studied and found to be insensitive to the structural vibration or wind speed in this paper.

Simulation Study on the Influence of Fire Partition on Curtain Wall Temperature in Super High-Rise Buildings in China

The poor fire resistance characteristic of super high-rise curtain wall makes the curtain wall design one of the main approaches to improve its capacity for prevention and control over fire and smoke spread. The propagation of smoke leads to the increase in the temperature of the curtain wall on the upper and lower floors of the fire floor and consequently leads to glass fracture and other serious consequences. Current codes have control over fire resistance performance and size of fire partition materials but do not include requirements on the position of curtain walls on floors. By changing the position of fire partition in curtain walls, the paper carries out three comparative simulation experiments on two forms of fire partition: spandrel and fire prevention cornice. Besides, PyroSim is used to calculate the comparative simulation of fire and smoke spread and obtain the data on temperature variation nephogram and monitoring points in the center line of glass curtain walls during different fire scenarios, so as to discuss the influence of different positions of spandrels and fire canopy on fire hazard and smoke. This study finds out the following: fire canopy can better prevent the longitudinal spread of fire smoke than spandrels. The fire canopy above spandrels can reduce the flue-gas temperature. The higher the spandrels above floors, the faster the temperature of the central lines of glass curtain walls above fire floors reduced. However, the higher the spandrels above floors, the more uneven the distributions of high-temperature regions and low-temperature regions, thus leading to the increase in horizontal temperature differences of glass panels. This research conclusion can be taken as a reference for fire protection design of super high-rise glass curtain wall.

PERFORMANCE STUDY OF MAIN STRUCTURE AND OF GLASS CURTAIN WALL ON HIGH-RISE BUILDING UNDER THE COUPLING ACTION OF WIND AND EARTHQUAKE

In order to study the performance change and interactions between the main structure and glass curtain wall under the individual and coupled actions of wind and earthquake loadings, on the basis of a 98 m high frame-core wall structure in highly seismic region, a finite element analysis model was built by adding the glass curtain wall according to the specifications. Three groups of three-dimensional seismic records are selected according to the site conditions, and the wind pressure time-history of different return periods was obtained through a 1∶440 scale wind tunnel model test. Then the effects of individual and coupled actions of wind and earthquake on the behavior of the main structure and glass curtain wall was studied by the nonlinear dynamic analysis. The results show that the influence of the main structure on the glass curtain wall was greater than that of the glass curtain wall on the main structure. Whether under the individual or coupled actions of wind and earthquake, the inter-story deformation of the main structure was larger than the deformation of the glass curtain wall itself. Under the design and super-intensity earthquake loadings, the nonlinear response of the main structure and the failure range of the glass curtain wall increased with the load increase, and the growth of structural deformation was greater than the base shear's growth. Under the action of wind, the glass curtain wall was not damaged, the main structure was in an elastic stage, and the base shear, top displacement and the maximum story drift ratio increased linearly. Compared with the effect of rare earthquake alone, when the rare earthquake was coupled with 1.1 times wind pressure of a 100-year return period, the torsional effect appears in the structure, and the story drift ratio increased from 1.0 to 1.3. The nonlinear response of the main structure and the glass curtain wall is greater than the simple superposition of wind and earthquake alone. The top displacement and the maximum story drift were 121% and 106% of the sum of wind and earthquake alone. Under the rare earthquake, the coupling action of the rare earthquake and wind earthquake, the failure of glass curtain wall is more likely to happen on the side parallel to the main direction of earthquake.

Review: Modern Architecture and Climate: Design before Air Conditioning

Review: <i>Modern Architecture and Climate: Design before Air Conditioning</i>

Sunlight Pollution Analysis of Glass Curtain Wall in 3D City

Objectives Sunlight pollution caused by glass curtain walls of buildings in urban environment has brought great threats to traffic safety, fire control and residents?? health. At present, most researches on architecture sunlight pollution traditionally focus a local small range at specific construction based on simula-tion or measurement methods. We keep the way of three-dimensional (3D) computation, dissimilarly inte-grates geographic resources to expand the perception range of city sunlight pollution brought by building glasses. Methods The calculation technique of sunlight pollution builds 3D spatial relationship among road, building facade and sunlight in real urban environment, using deep-learning image segmentation to extract glass curtain walls. Then, combined with glare evaluation model, we develop an innovative sunlight pollu-tion model from perspective of drivers to evaluate the suitability for people. Results Taking Shenzhen Fu-tian Center as an example, the multi-level analyses of sunlight pollution are implemented by means of calcu-lation under real time and real location, and path selection based on evaluation. Through these instances, the time sequence regularity, the spatial distribution characteristics and the path estimation of architecture sunlight pollution are revealed. Conclusions The analyses retain space computation mode with innova-tions, fully utilize street view resources, and provide people the macroscopic concept, which indicates rela-tive strength of building sunlight pollution. Additionally, the method ensures instantaneity of urban sunlight pollution acquisition and computation, to a certain extent covers shortages of current researches, and is fur-ther capable of reference evaluation in environment protection, accurate warnings and predictions of glare intensity for pedestrians and drivers.

Modeling and control of a novel facade cleaning robot with four-ducted fan drive

With the development of modern cities, the demand for cleaning glass curtain walls in urban skyscrapers is increasing, and therefore, many researches on facade cleaning robots have been carried out in the past few decades. In this article, a novel type of facade cleaning robot based on four-ducted fan is proposed. To improve the load capacity of the robot, the lifting and horizontal movement are, respectively, supported by an independent lifting mechanism and a lateral movement mechanism. Unlike the previous passive and active suction, the powerful suction power of the robot is provided by the four-ducted fan. Meanwhile, the obstacle-climbing force is caused by the forward of the four-ducted fan that improves the crossing obstacle ability. In addition, an incremental sliding mode algorithm is applied for controlling the posture when the robot crosses obstacles, which can ensure the stable performance of the cleaning robot under disturbance. Some simulations and experiments are conducted and the results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the designed facade cleaning robot.

Design and research on the adsorption system for self-regulating unmanned cleaning aircraft

Cleaning robot is one of the main research directions in the field of glass curtain wall cleaning at present. It has important theoretical research significance and practical application value in high altitude work tasks such as glass curtain wall cleaning and crack detection. At present, cleaning robots are prone to reduce their working stability due to the dynamic uncertainty of the high-altitude wind field environment, and even fall from the sky in serious cases, which greatly affects the safety of high-altitude operation. Therefore, an adsorption system applied to unmanned cleaning aircraft is proposed in this paper. The system has two advantages: (1) through the adjustment of the center controller, the system can be detected in dynamic environment according to the parameters change, the influence of adsorption force to adjust output parameters, the corresponding mechanism, control the automatic adjusting system surface adsorption, are keeping their reasonable adsorption range, thus ensuring the system stability; (2) When the adsorption force adjustment parameter exceeds the adjustment threshold, the system will automatically start the motor to make the rotor work and prevent the cleaning equipment from falling, so as to improve the safety performance of the system.