Complex Unitized Curtain Wall Numerical Analysis and Full-Scale Test Assessment of High-Rise Buildings For SLS: A Case Study on 4B+G+48 CBE_HQ Building Project
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Date
2020-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The building façade is the face of a building which gives the building its own unique identity. In
modern High-rise building constructions, even with complex shapes, a unitized curtain wall system
is the primary choice. However, this practice of using unitized curtain walls for complex façades
brings a lot of design and construction challenges related to movement accommodation, weather
control, and façade structural stability. The new CBE HQ building is one with a complex façade
due to the existence of attached decorative elements and the doubly sheared /sloped/ panels. These
panels require the spanning mullions and the stack joints of the specific panels to be assembled
using special connectors. This thesis deals with the investigation and comparison of the numerical
analysis and full-scale test results of the unitized curtain wall mullions for serviceability limit state.
The deflection results of the numerical analysis and the test for the selected members including
the joined mullions are presented, discussed, and compared. Although all the measured deflection
data are within the allowable limit, for the continuous members the numerical analysis provides
higher deflection values while for joined mullion members the full-scale test displacement values
at the joint are found to be larger. This is found to be due to the gaps provided for construction
tolerance at the support which also shows a negative impact on the structural stability of the support
and leakage control of the curtain wall. Also, this paper shows the importance of full-scale testing
for complex façades as a final deciding factor. A detailed introduction of curtain wall systems is
also included in this thesis to provide the basic knowledge for the readers.
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Keywords
Façade, Unitized Curtain Wall, Full-Scale Curtain Wall Test