curtain wall system

1. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
Submitted by,
ABIDHA KARTHU.E.K
SYANECE002
Under the guidance of,
Mrs. RAMYA.K.M
Asst. Prof. of Civil Engg
SIMAT,Vavanoor
1

2. CONTENT
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Introduction
 History
 What is curtain wall?
 Components of curtain wall
 Functions
 Types of Installation systems
 Loads
 Rain screen Principle
 Maintanance and Repair
 Expectations
 Case studies
 Conclusion
 References
2

3. INTRODUCTION
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 A curtain wall system is an outer covering of a
building
 Also called Hanging wall
 Influential developments in the history of
modern architecture.
 Wide usage today
3

4. HISTORY
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Exterior walls of the building take load of entire
structure
 wide spread use of structural steel and later
reinforced concrete
 It made use of small columns to support large
loads
 No requirement of exterior walls
 Made it as much as lighter
 Wide use of light materials like glass
 Curtain walls are born
4

5. WHAT IS CURTAIN WALL?
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Definition
“A curtain wall system is an outer covering of a
building in which the outer walls are non-structural,
but merely keep the weather out and the
occupants in.”
Fig 1:Curtain wall
5

6. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Light weight wall systems installed outside of
building structure
 The name derives from the idea that the wall is
thin and hangs like a curtain on the structural
frame
 Design to resist wind and rain
 Also accommodate building drift and seismic
movements
 Skin of the building
 Seperator between interior and outdoor
environments
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7. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
Fig 2:Concept of Curtain wall
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8. COMPONENTS OF CURTAIN WALL
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
Fig 3:Components
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9. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Curtain wall mullion-Vertical component
 Curtain wall transom-Horizontal component
 Glass
 Transparent
 Wide spread usage
 Light weight
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10. OTHER MATERIALS
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Fabric veneer
• Less expensive
• Faster to install
• Easy to modify
• Low density
• Light weight
Fig 4: Fabric veneer
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11. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Stone veneer
Fig 5:Stone veneer
• Thin blocks of 3-4 inches
• Should have proper shape
and size
• Aesthetic appearance
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12. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Panel
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM12
• It may be
aluminium,
aluminium
composite or copper
Fig 6:Panels
12

13. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Louvers
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM13
• Installed at
ventilation and fresh
air required area
• Allow to filter outside
air
Fig 7:Louvers
13

14. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Windows and Vents
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM14
• It gives both glaze
and ventilation to
the building
Fig 8:Windows and Vents
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15. FUNCTIONS
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Protecting the interior from environmental effects
 Natural lighting
 Provide occupant comfort
 Keeps water out
 They are expected to perform acceptably when
exposed to natural disasters
15

16. TYPES OF INSTALLATION SYSTEMS
Stick-built curtain wall
system
Unitized curtain wall
system
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Installed piece by
piece at site
 Thermal expansion
and contraction of
mullions are
accomodated by
expansion joints
 System components
are shop fabricated
and shipped
 Units are shop
fabricated and pre-
assembled
 Units are designed so
that the horizontal and
vertical members in
adjacent units
interlock to form
common mullions and
rails16

17. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Greater degree of on
site adjustments
 Low shipping cost
 Lower degree of site
adjustments
 Have greater degree
of quality control
resulting from shop
fabrication
 Lower field installation
cost
 Ensure progress of
project
 Shorter construction
period
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18. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM18
DISADVANTAGES
 Too many loss parts
and components on
site
 Poor acoustics and
thermal insulation
 Requires different
trade men
 More onsite labours
required
 Longer onsite
assembly time
DISADVANTAGES
 High skilled labours
required
 High shipping cost
 Need higher degree of
protection of units
when transportation
 Requirement of
expensive lifting
equipments on site

19. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM19

20. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM20

21. LOADS
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Dead load
 Wind load
 Seismic load
 Snow load
 Thermal load
 Blast load
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22. RAINSCREEN PRINCIPLE
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Equilibrium of air pressure between exterior and
interior of the curtain wall
 Minimizes the force which drives moisture
through outer wall
 External cladding must be able to perform
structurally against wind loads when pressure
equalization occurs
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23. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 PROBLEM
Differences in air pressure push water into
cladding
 SOLUTION
Pressure equalization chamber
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24. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM24
Fig 9:Equalization
chamber

25. MAINTANANCE AND REPAIR
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Aluminum frames are generally painted or
anodized
 Care must be taken when cleaning areas around
anodized material
 Application of fluoropolymer thermoset
 Anodized aluminum frames cannot be ”re-
anodized” in place, but can be cleaned and
protected by proprietary clear coatings
 Use of specially textured matte stainless steel
surface finishes
 Use of Stainless steel curtain walls
25

26. EXPECTATIONS
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Use of transparent elements
 Use architectural glass or other glazing products
 Conserve energy
 Provide occupant comfort
 Innovation of self cleaning glass
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27. CASE STUDIES
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM27

28. 1)BURJ KHALIFA,DUBAI
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM28
 Unitized panels
 With a surface area of
1.2 million square feet
 Comprises roughly
28,000 prefabricated
panels
 Double-layer glass set
within extruded
aluminum frames
Fig 10:Burj Khalifa,Dubai

29. 2) OTERPRISE SQUARE, 26 NATHAN
ROAD, HONG KONG, CHINA
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM29
 27-storey office tower
 Semiunitized curtain
wall
 Operatable windows
 Louvres
 Curved feature covers
 splayed glass skin
 Contract
value:$1,400,000
Fig 11: Oterprise Square

30. 3) CALAKMUL, SANTA FE, MEXICO
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM30
 Four-sided Structural
Stick System Curtain
Wall
 Aluminium panels for
6-storey office
 Ornate office building
and exhibition centre
with award-winning
design.
 Contract
value:$1,600,000
Fig 12: Calakmul, Santa Fe

31. 4) CHENG LOONG PLAZA, TAIPEI,TAIWAN
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM31
 Unitized Curtain Wall
 29-storey office
building
 full curtain wall
envelope
 High performance
glass and aluminium
panels.
 Contract
value:$3,000,000
Fig 13: Cheng Loong
Plaza

32. 5)LIPPO CENTRE,HONG KONG,CHINA
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM32
 Twin 46 and 44 storey
office towers
 Stick curtain wall with
vents
 Contract
value:$4,500,000
Fig 14:Lippo Centre, Hong Kong

33. CONCLUSION
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Curtain wall is an essential part of building
today,because of its functions,light weight,rapid
constructions and also signicant aesthetic
freedom
 It is a major and unique invention in Civil
Engineering field
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34. REFERENCES
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM34
 Light weight curtain walls- Problems&recent
treands ,Richard L. Hess S.E. and Aswin
Rangaswamy,ASCE 2004
 Numerical Simulation and Verification of
CurtainWall Systems under Shock Pressure M.
Nawar; H. Salim, A.M.ASCE, B. Lusk; and S
.Kiger, F.ASCE
 Curtain Wall Designs for Wind and Blast:Three
Case Studies Charles D. Clift, F.ASCE

35. CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM35