Assessment and Modelling of Seismic Behaviour of Glazed Curtain Walls

Abstract eng:
Recent earthquakes confirmed the large occurrence of non-structural components failure, so as furnishings, equipment, and architectural, electrical and mechanical fixtures, which causes economic losses and represents a risk for human life safety. The glazed curtain wall systems are non-structural elements increasingly used in new mid and high-rise buildings. These systems, often realized with aluminium/steel frames and glass panels, are hung to the main structure and generally cover the entire facade. This study investigates the behavior of stick curtain wall systems under seismic excitation, through an experimental campaign conducted at the laboratory of the Construction Technologies Institute of the Italian National Research Council on a full-scale aluminium/glass curtain wall test unit. Then, a FE model has been developed aiming at reproducing the results of the experimental test and at suggesting the most suitable ways for predicting the seismic response of such kind of non-structural elements. The interaction between glass panels and aluminium frame, the gasket friction and the stiffness degradation of aluminium-to-glass connections due to the high deformations are taken into account in the model.

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