Curtain Wall Systems: A Primer (ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice)

Prepared by the Committee on Curtain Wall Systems of the Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE Curtain Wall Systems: A Primer provides a comprehensive introduction to the use of curtain wall systems in building envelopes. Today's curtain wall systems go beyond the basic functions of providing natural lighting and protecting the building interior from the external environment. These systems now are expected to conserve energy and ensure occupant comfort by controlling heat flow and solar radiation. Moreover, curtain wall systems must be designed for acceptable performance under natural disasters and human-made hazards. The design, fabrication, construction, and maintenance of advanced and efficient curtain wall systems demand the involvement of professionals from several fields of engineering and building technology. This Manual of Practice compiles a basic review of the many aspects of curtain wall systems that affect their design and performance. It highlights the materials used to manufacture curtain walls for low-rise to high-rise construction and describes different types of tests, mockups, and inspections. Methods of improving the energy performance, waterproofing, and wind loading of curtain walls are assessed. Specialized aspects of curtain wall design and analysis for extreme events, such as earthquake and bomb blast, are explored. Innovative façade design and new curtain wall and glazing systems are covered as well. MOP 126 is written for architects, structural engineers, HVAC engineers, general contractors, building owners, and building operators who are new to curtain wall systems and want to learn more about this specialized and emerging field MANUALS AND REPORTS ON ENGINEERING PRACTICE......Page 4 MANUALS AND REPORTS ON ENGINEERING PRACTICE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE......Page 5 COMMITTEE ON CURTAIN-WALL SYSTEMS......Page 6 CONTENTS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......Page 12 CHAPTER 2: DEFINITION AND TYPES OF CURTAIN WALLS......Page 14 3.1 MATERIALS......Page 19 3.2 CURTAIN WALL FRAMING ELEMENTS......Page 28 3.3 TYPES OF GLAZING PANEL CONSTRUCTION......Page 34 3.4 CURTAIN WALL ANCHORAGE......Page 39 3.5 SUMMARY......Page 41 3.6 REFERENCES......Page 43 4.1 MOCKUPS......Page 44 4.2 STANDARDS RELATED TO CURTAIN WALL SYSTEMS......Page 46 4.3 TYPES OF TESTS......Page 49 4.4 MOCKUP TESTS......Page 59 4.5 OBSERVATIONS......Page 62 4.6 SUMMARY......Page 65 4.7 REFERENCES......Page 66 CHAPTER 5: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR ENERGY PERFORMANCE......Page 67 5.1 HEAT LOSS ACROSS CURTAIN WALL......Page 68 5.2 U-VALUE: DETERMINING HEAT LOSS......Page 69 5.3 HEAT GAIN AND SOLAR RADIATION......Page 75 5.4 GLAZING OPTIONS FOR THERMAL PERFORMANCE......Page 76 5.6 OPTICAL, SOLAR, AND THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING......Page 77 5.7 AIR INFILTRATION......Page 79 5.8 CONDENSATION RESISTANCE......Page 80 5.9 COMPUTER THERMAL MODELING......Page 81 5.10 FURTHER READING......Page 82 6.1 DESIGN TO CONTROL CONDENSATION......Page 84 6.2 RAIN WATER FORCE AND POTENTIAL RAIN PENETRATION......Page 89 6.3 CONCLUSION......Page 94 6.4 REFERENCES......Page 96 CHAPTER 7: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR WIND LOAD......Page 98 7.1 DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALL COMPONENTS......Page 99 7.2 WIND LOADS AND THE BUILDING CODE......Page 105 7.3 WIND LOAD ANALYSIS: MODELS THAT SIMULATE STATIC EQUILIBRIUM......Page 109 7.4 PHILOSOPHY OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR ALUMINUM STRUCTURES......Page 113 7.6 REFERENCES......Page 114 CHAPTER 8: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED LOADS AND DRIFTS......Page 116 8.1 PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING SYSTEMS IN PAST EARTHQUAKES......Page 117 8.2 PARAMETERS IMPORTANT IN SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING SYSTEMS......Page 119 8.3 BUILDING CODE SEISMIC PROVISIONS FOR DESIGN OF GLAZING SYSTEMS......Page 128 8.4 MOCKUP TESTING REQUIREMENTS......Page 133 8.5 CLOSING REMARKS......Page 136 8.6 REFERENCES......Page 137 9.1 QUALITATIVE CONSIDERATIONS......Page 140 9.3 DEMANDS: BLAST PRESSURES......Page 145 9.4 DIRECT ANALYSIS METHODS......Page 148 9.5 ANALYSIS-DESIGN METHODS......Page 151 9.6 DESIGN OF BLAST-RESISTANT SYSTEMS......Page 154 9.7 MITIGATION SYSTEMS......Page 156 9.8 DECISION-MAKING TOOLS......Page 160 9.9 FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS......Page 162 9.10 CLOSING REMARKS......Page 163 9.11 REFERENCES......Page 164 CHAPTER 10: INNOVATIVE FAC,ADE DESIGN AND PRODUCTS......Page 165 10.1 HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENVELOPES: PASSIVE SYSTEMS......Page 166 10.2 HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENVELOPES: ACTIVE SYSTEMS......Page 181 10.3 TRANSPARENCY IN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE......Page 191 10.4 DIGITAL DESIGN, ENGINEERING, AND FABRICATION......Page 197 10.5 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK......Page 201 10.6 REFERENCES......Page 202 CHAPTER 11: NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN CURTAIN WALL AND GLAZING SYSTEMS......Page 205 11.2 POINT-SUPPORTED GLASS SYSTEMS......Page 206 11.3 DOUBLE-SKIN FAC,ADE......Page 208 11.4 BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC (BIPV) GLAZING......Page 209 11.5 LOW-E COATINGS AND TRANSPARENT/TRANSLUCENT INSULATION......Page 212 11.6 VACUUM-INSULATED GLAZING......Page 215 11.8 REFERENCES......Page 216 CHAPTER 12: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS......Page 221 INDEX......Page 226 MANUALS AND REPORTS ON ENGINEERING PRACTICE 4 MANUALS AND REPORTS ON ENGINEERING PRACTICE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE 5 BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PANEL 6 COMMITTEE ON CURTAIN-WALL SYSTEMS 6 CONTENTS 8 PREFACE 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 12 CHAPTER 2: DEFINITION AND TYPES OF CURTAIN WALLS 14 CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND CONFIGURATIONS 19 3.1 MATERIALS 19 3.2 CURTAIN WALL FRAMING ELEMENTS 28 3.3 TYPES OF GLAZING PANEL CONSTRUCTION 34 3.4 CURTAIN WALL ANCHORAGE 39 3.5 SUMMARY 41 3.6 REFERENCES 43 CHAPTER 4: TESTING MOCKUPS AND FIELD INSPECTION 44 4.1 MOCKUPS 44 4.2 STANDARDS RELATED TO CURTAIN WALL SYSTEMS 46 4.3 TYPES OF TESTS 49 4.4 MOCKUP TESTS 59 4.5 OBSERVATIONS 62 4.6 SUMMARY 65 4.7 REFERENCES 66 CHAPTER 5: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR ENERGY PERFORMANCE 67 5.1 HEAT LOSS ACROSS CURTAIN WALL 68 5.2 U-VALUE: DETERMINING HEAT LOSS 69 5.3 HEAT GAIN AND SOLAR RADIATION 75 5.4 GLAZING OPTIONS FOR THERMAL PERFORMANCE 76 5.5 SHGC: DETERMINING HEAT GAIN 77 5.6 OPTICAL, SOLAR, AND THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING 77 5.7 AIR INFILTRATION 79 5.8 CONDENSATION RESISTANCE 80 5.9 COMPUTER THERMAL MODELING 81 5.10 FURTHER READING 82 CHAPTER 6: WATERPROOFING DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS 84 6.1 DESIGN TO CONTROL CONDENSATION 84 6.2 RAIN WATER FORCE AND POTENTIAL RAIN PENETRATION 89 6.3 CONCLUSION 94 6.4 REFERENCES 96 CHAPTER 7: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR WIND LOAD 98 7.1 DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALL COMPONENTS 99 7.2 WIND LOADS AND THE BUILDING CODE 105 7.3 WIND LOAD ANALYSIS: MODELS THAT SIMULATE STATIC EQUILIBRIUM 109 7.4 PHILOSOPHY OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR ALUMINUM STRUCTURES 113 7.5 CONCLUSION 114 7.6 REFERENCES 114 CHAPTER 8: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS FOR EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED LOADS AND DRIFTS 116 8.1 PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING SYSTEMS IN PAST EARTHQUAKES 117 8.2 PARAMETERS IMPORTANT IN SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF GLAZING SYSTEMS 119 8.3 BUILDING CODE SEISMIC PROVISIONS FOR DESIGN OF GLAZING SYSTEMS 128 8.4 MOCKUP TESTING REQUIREMENTS 133 8.5 CLOSING REMARKS 136 8.6 REFERENCES 137 CHAPTER 9: DESIGN OF CURTAIN WALLS TO RESIST IMPACT AND BLAST 140 9.1 QUALITATIVE CONSIDERATIONS 140 9.2 QUANTITATIVE CONSIDERATIONS 145 9.3 DEMANDS: BLAST PRESSURES 145 9.4 DIRECT ANALYSIS METHODS 148 9.5 ANALYSIS-DESIGN METHODS 151 9.6 DESIGN OF BLAST-RESISTANT SYSTEMS 154 9.7 MITIGATION SYSTEMS 156 9.8 DECISION-MAKING TOOLS 160 9.9 FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 162 9.10 CLOSING REMARKS 163 9.11 REFERENCES 164 CHAPTER 10: INNOVATIVE FAÇADE DESIGN AND PRODUCTS 165 10.1 HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENVELOPES: PASSIVE SYSTEMS 166 10.2 HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENVELOPES: ACTIVE SYSTEMS 181 10.3 TRANSPARENCY IN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE 191 10.4 DIGITAL DESIGN, ENGINEERING, AND FABRICATION 197 10.5 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK 201 10.6 REFERENCES 202 CHAPTER 11: NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN CURTAIN WALL AND GLAZING SYSTEMS 205 11.1 ATTACHMENT OF GLASS PANES TO FRAMING 206 11.2 POINT-SUPPORTED GLASS SYSTEMS 206 11.3 DOUBLE-SKIN FAÇADE 208 11.4 BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC (BIPV) GLAZING 209 11.5 LOW-E COATINGS AND TRANSPARENT/TRANSLUCENT INSULATION 212 11.6 VACUUM-INSULATED GLAZING 215 11.7 CLOSING REMARKS 216 11.8 REFERENCES 216 CHAPTER 12: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 221 INDEX 226 MOP 126 provides a comprehensive introduction to the use of curtain wall systems in building envelopes for architects, structural engineers, contractors, and building owners.