CURTAIN

WALL

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

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INTRODUCTION- BASICS OF EXTERNAL WALL AND CURTAIN WAL
• An exterior wall typically forms part of a building envelope, separating the accommodation inside from that outside. Its
functions include:
o Environmental control–mediating between indoor and outdoor conditions.
o Security.
o Privacy.
o Fire control.
o Aesthetics.
• It may include openings allowing access and ventilation and glazing to allow light in and views out. In load-bearing
construction such as masonry, the exterior wall may also provide support to the combined dead, imposed, and wind loads
of the roof and floor construction and convey them to the foundations.
• Joints accommodating thermal movements may be required if long, uninterrupted wall lengths are involved.
• Exterior walls can be made from a wide variety of materials either singly or in combination with other materials.
These can include:
O Masonry such as stone, brick, and block.
O Concrete.
O Timber.
O Metal cladding.
O Glass, metal, or timber panels.
o GRP/GRC cladding.
o Terracotta.
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• A curtain wall is defined as a thin, usually aluminum-framed wall, containing in-fills of glass,
• metal panels, or thin stone. The framing is attached to the building structure and does
• not carry the floor or roof loads of the building. The wind and gravity loads of the curtain
• wall are transferred to the building structure, typically at the floor line.

CURTAIN WALL- FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• The primary purpose of a curtain wall system is to protect the building interior against exterior
natural phenomena such as sun exposure, temperature changes, earthquake, rain, and wind.
• This protection can be separated into two major categories, namely structural safety
and interior environmental control.
• The structural safety problems include failures of wall components, wall facing
material, and fasteners.
• The interior environmental control problems include excessive energy loss, noise
control, mold growth, interior water condensation, and water leakage.

CURTAIN WALL- CONSTRUCTION COMPONENTS

• The complete unit consists of the following structural elements
o Transom
o Mullions
o Vision Glass
o Anchor

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 • Transom or horizontal rails are horizontal members on the curtain wall panel.
• The mullions or vertical rails are anchored to the edge slab or beam.
• These are mainly involved in supporting the dead weight of the curtain wall. In conventional
or sticky curtain wall system each system has to be placed one after the other. High quality
check and precision in required for the installation. But in unitized system the factory product
comes as two units alone which has to connect.

CURTAIN WALL- CONSTRUCTION PROCESS (STICK SYSTEM)

• Stick Curtain Walling (SWC) may be defined as non-load bearing walls, usually
suspended in front of structural steel or concrete framing. The term “stick” refers to
the factory-cut mullions and transoms which are transported to the site as loose bars
and sticks. However, it is possible to assemble them into a ladder frame often referred
to as “ladders” for quicker site assembly.
• In the stick system, the curtain wall frame (mullions) and glass or opaque panels are
installed and connected piece by piece on site.
• The glazing is inserted into the frame from the inside or the outside depending on
access conditions.
• Stick curtain walling systems are versatile and allow for the integration of other
systems, such as sliding doors and windows. They tend to be less specialized and can
be built by all types of fabricators as they are not dependent on having a large factory.

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• Advantages:
o Wide availability of system choice on the market at very competitive prices and short lead-in times.
o Suited for angular or complex facades.
o Slighlines are slimmer than Unitized Curtain Walling.
o Quicker production processes in the factory
o Sequence of the building can be changed quickly
• Disadvantages:
o Wide For completion, curtain walls requires additional glass and steel.
o To keep their aesthetics value intact, it require more and regular maintenance.
o Construction cost may increase significantly due to curtain walls.
o By unfavorable weather conditions, the installation of these structures may be
delayed

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CURTAIN WALL- CONSTRUCTION PROCESS (UNITIZED SYSTEM)

• In the unitized system, the curtain wall is composed of large units that are assembled
and glazed n the factory, shipped to the site and erected on the building.
• Vertical and horizontal mullions of the modules mate together with the adjoining
modules. Modules are generally constructed one story tall and one module wide but
may incorporate multiple modules. Typical units are five to six feet wide.
• For unitized curtain walling, about 30% of the work is done on site, while 70% is
carried out in the factory. The complete assembly of the units in the factory brings a
number of benefits.

• Advantages:
o Improved quality control
o Concurrent manufacture and site preparation - units can be assembled while the
structural frame is being built. The facade can also be
o Completed a floor at a time, allowing parallel internal work
o Quicker installation, requiring less manpower on site
o No need for scaffolding
o Can be installed from the interior of the building. This is ideal for high towers or
building sites where there is a tight footprint
o Less space is needed on site for layout – another advantage
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CURTAIN WALL- CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

1. Frame: It is composed of steel, aluminum, multilaminate glass, or other resilient materials, the
frame is the support grid that holds the glass in place.

2. Glass: Curtain wall glazing ranges in price, durability, impact resistance safety, and stability
depending upon the manufacturing process.

3. Metal panels: They can take various forms including aluminum plate, stainless steel or other
noncorrosive metal, and thin composite panels. Consisting of 2 thin aluminum sheets,
sandwiching a thin plastic inlayer or panels consisting of metal sheets bonded to rigid insulation.

4. Anchors: Anchor assembly aids to attach the curtain wall assembly to the building structure. It
comprises of enclosure for the anchor which defines an area adjacent to the anchor.

5. Mullions and Transoms: They are the frame structures.

6. Spandrel Panel: They are the areas or screens located between vision areas of windows which
conceal structural columns, floor slabs, and shear walls.

7. Vision Glass: The glass panels (opaque/transparent) attached to the frame act as a partition
for creating space are called vision glass.

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Classification of glass curtain wall systems
STICK SYSTEM
• The curtain wall is installed piece by piece at
the site.
• Thermal expansion and contraction of mullions
are accommodated by expansion joints in
mullions.
• The system components are shop- fabricated
and shipped
• Low shipping costs and also permits a greater
degree of on-site adjustment as compared to
the other systems.
• Disadvantage - longer on-site assembly time
and more on-site labor than the other systems.
UNITIZED SYSTEM
•Consists of framed wall units that are shop
fabricated, preassembled, and generally pre glazed.
•The units are designed so that the vertical and
horizontal members in adjacent units interlock to
form common mullions and rails.
•Advantage - its greater degree of quality control
resulting from shop fabrication.
•Disadvantage - the greater shipping cost because
of the added bulk from assembled units, the need
of a greater degree of protection of units during
Transportation, and a lower degree of field
adjustment.
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TYPES OF GLASS:

• Clear Glass:
Clear Glass or Float Glass has a slight green tint to the body of the glass and a very dark green edge detail while
Extra Clear Glass has very little tint to the body of the glass appearing almost completely transparent, the glass
edge has a very slight crystal blue/green tint.
• Colored Glass:
Glass is colored by adding metal oxides or metal powders to molten glass. Depending on the metal, the glass
takes on a particular color. For example, the “cobalt blue” glass –that color comes from adding cobalt. Copper
oxides also make glass blue to bluish green. Sulphur and cadmium make yellow. Iron oxides produce greens and
browns. Tin produces white. Chrome produces emerald greens.
• Reflective Glass:
Reflective glass is essentially ordinary float glass with a metallic coating that cuts off solar heat. This special
metallic coating also provides a one-way mirror effect, preventing visibility from the outside and thus preserving
privacy. Reflective glass is used primarily for structural façade glazing.
• Low Emission Glass:
Low emission is standard clear glass which has a special coating on one surface of the
glass. Low-e refers to low emissivity and this describes the capacity of a surface to radiate heat.
• Low-e coatings provide various performance levels and the glass can be used in a variety of ways
including single glazing, laminated glass or double glazed windows.

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