Accommodation of Structural Movement In Glass-aluminium Curtain Walls

The problems of the structural movements of buildings and their effects on the building envelopes are discussed in this paper. The widely used methodology for assessing the capacity of curtain wall systems to accommodate different modes of building movement is explained and discussed. It is identified how generic types of structural movement such as live load deflection of floor structures and wind and earthquake induced building sway act on different types of glass-aluminium curtain wall systems. As there is a considerable lack of understanding between the disciplines as to which actual types and stages of building displacements should be considered, a universal analysis approach is proposed. Guidance for special considerations is provided. Special attention is paid to the considerable deviation between the theoretical approach for analysis and the actual behaviour of structures and enclosures observed in praxis, the former being in most cases very conservative.