A checklist proposal for aluminium curtain wall systems standards for production of components, system design and performance

In last century, technologic developments have influenced construction technology considerably. External wall systems which freed of their load bearing function are used instead of traditional load bearing walls along with the development of skeleton systems. Production of aluminium and glass technology have developed as a result of industrial revolution and modern curtain wall facades have been adopted for the external wall systems of buildings. Nowadays, aluminium curtain wall systems are preferred for nearly all types of buildings. Aluminium curtain walls are preferred in many projects by architects because of increasing demand for these types of facades. Number of facade companies in the market and type of aluminium curtain wall facade system have increased depending upon this growing demand. As a consequence, architects may have difficulties in choosing right materials and system types. Technical specifications which include standards of building components and their assemblies are prepared before starting an architectural project construction. These technical specifications are important for the building service life. Review of several architectural projects and their documentation of buildings has revealed that either there were no technical specifications of aluminium curtain wall systems or adequate standards concerning production of the relevant components, design and performance of the systems were not specified in the technical specifications. Lack of standards may lead to the occurrence of some defects and, therefore, damages during the use of aluminium curtain wall systems. In other words, premature failures occur in buildings. Currently, there is not any study which includes all the standards for production of aluminium curtain wall components, system design and system performance of aluminium curtain walls in Turkey. Therefore, such a study is needed in Turkey. In line with the importance of the problem mentioned above, the purpose of this study is to propose a checklist which includes all the standards for production of aluminium curtain wall components, system design and system performance of aluminium curtain walls to use for a building to be constructed in Turkey. Thus, it is aimed that to prevent premature failures that may occur in buildings due to lack of standards in the technical specifications. The scope of the study is determined according to construction method and glass fixings of the curtain walls. This study includes stick system with cover cap, stick system with structural silicone, unitized system with cover cap and unitized system with structural silicone. For the aluminium curtain wall components, aluminium profile, EPDM gasket, polyamide thermal break and structural silicone have been examined. However, in this study glazing is excluded. Literature review and face to face meetings are conducted to achieve the aim. Books which are related to subject, national and international standards and documents of nongovernmental organizations have been examined as literature review. Face to face interviews have been made with the producers regarding production standards, with system design companies about system design and with system execution/design companies about performance standards. The study which is realized according to above mentioned aims and scope consists of seven chapters: The first chapter starts with the problem and concludes with the definition of the aim, scope, method and hypothesis. The second chapter is about literature study of facade systems, performance and standards. In this chapter, firstly terms related facade systems such as external wall, enclosure, cladding, facade and curtain wall are defined to make other chapters understandable. The chapter continues with history and classification of facade systems. Secondly; performance, performance requirements and performance criteria are defined. Thirdly; definition of standard and standard types is given and governmental and nongovernmental organizations which prepare standards have been examined. The third chapter is about literature study of aluminium curtain wall components, aluminium curtain wall system types and expected performances from aluminium curtain walls. The chapter starts with components of aluminium curtain walls and their properties. Secondly, aluminium curtain wall system types and construction methods of aluminium curtain walls are given. Thirdly, materials and production processes of selected aluminium curtain wall components have been specified. The chapter concludes with performance requirements which is expected from an aluminium curtain wall system. Thereby, aluminium curtain wall components, materials and performance requirements which needs to be examined by standards have been determined. In the fourth chapter, national and international standards which are prepared by governmental and nongovernmental organizations have been examined to put forward existing standards. Research has been conducted according to geographic locations such as North America and Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific Region. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Standards Council of Canada (SCC), European Standards (EN), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), German Institute for Standardization (DIN), British Standards Institution (BSI), Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), Singapore Standards (SS) and Standards New Zealand (NZS) have been examined. Tables which demonstrate existing standards for production of aluminium curtain wall components, system design and system performance of aluminium curtain walls are given, respectively. The fifth chapter includes results of face to face interviews which have been made with companies in Turkish market. To reveal current situation in Turkey, face to face interviews have been made with the aluminium profile, EPDM gasket, polyamide thermal break and structural silicone producers regarding production standards, with system design companies about system design and with system execution/design companies about performance standards. During the interviews, the producers were asked about the production processes and the standards they use in these processes, system design companies were asked about the standards they use for design and system design/execution companies were asked about performance standards. The existing standards used by these companies have been specified as a result of these interviews. In the sixth chapter, the data obtained from the fourth and fifth chapters are compiled and a checklist has been proposed for aluminium curtain wall standards for production of components, system design and system performance. The checklist has been prepared separately for each aluminium curtain wall component, system design and system performance standards in accordance with the scope of the study. In the last chapter, the results of the study are given for each part of the study and suggestions for the future studies are presented.