Submitted by,

ABIDHA KARTHU.E.K
SYANECE002

Under the guidance of,

Mrs. RAMYA.K.M
Asst. Prof. of Civil Engg
SIMAT,Vavanoor

1 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

CONTENT
 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 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION
 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 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

HISTORY
 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 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
WHAT IS CURTAIN WALL?
 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

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 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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 Fig 2:Concept of Curtain wall

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COMPONENTS OF CURTAIN WALL

Fig 3:Components
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 Curtain wall mullion-Vertical component
 Curtain wall transom-Horizontal component
 Glass

 Transparent
 Wide spread usage
 Light weight

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OTHER MATERIALS
 Fabric veneer

• Less expensive
• Faster to install
• Easy to modify
• Low density
• Light weight

Fig 4: Fabric veneer

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 Stone veneer

• Thin blocks of 3-4 inches

• Should have proper shape
and size
• Aesthetic appearance

Fig 5:Stone veneer

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 Panel

• It may be
aluminium,
aluminium
composite or copper

Fig 6:Panels

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 Louvers

• Installed at
ventilation and fresh
air required area
• Allow to filter outside
air

Fig 7:Louvers

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 Windows and Vents

• It gives both glaze

and ventilation to
the building

Fig 8:Windows and Vents

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FUNCTIONS

 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

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TYPES OF INSTALLATION SYSTEMS
Stick-built curtain wall Unitized curtain wall
system system
 Installed piece by  Units are shop
piece at site fabricated and pre-
 Thermal expansion assembled
and contraction of  Units are designed so
mullions are
accomodated by that the horizontal and
expansion joints vertical members in
 System components adjacent units
are shop fabricated interlock to form
and shipped common mullions and
16
rails
CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
 Greater degree of on
site adjustments
 Low shipping cost
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 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
DISADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Too many loss parts  High skilled labours
and components on required
site  High shipping cost
 Poor acoustics and  Need higher degree of
thermal insulation protection of units
 Requires different when transportation
trade men  Requirement of
 More onsite labours expensive lifting
required equipments on site
 Longer onsite
assembly time
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19 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
20 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
LOADS
 Dead load
 Wind load
 Seismic load
 Snow load
 Thermal load
 Blast load

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RAINSCREEN PRINCIPLE

 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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 PROBLEM
Differences in air pressure push water into
cladding

SOLUTION
Pressure equalization chamber

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 Fig 9:Equalization
chamber
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MAINTANANCE AND REPAIR
 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
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EXPECTATIONS
 Use of transparent elements
 Use architectural glass or other glazing products
 Conserve energy
 Provide occupant comfort
 Innovation of self cleaning glass

26 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

 CASE STUDIES

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1)BURJ KHALIFA,DUBAI

 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
28 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM
2) OTERPRISE SQUARE, 26 NATHAN
ROAD, HONG KONG, CHINA
 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

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3) CALAKMUL, SANTA FE, MEXICO
 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

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4) CHENG LOONG PLAZA, TAIPEI,TAIWAN
 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
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5)LIPPO CENTRE,HONG KONG,CHINA

 Twin 46 and 44 storey

office towers
 Stick curtain wall with
vents
 Contract
value:$4,500,000

Fig 14:Lippo Centre, Hong Kong

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CONCLUSION
 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

33 CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

REFERENCES
 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

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