GLASS AND

GLAZING
MODULE 4
GLASS
Glass is an ancient building
material, which facilitated
penetration of light into
buildings.

Once it was used exclusively for

window panes, whereas
nowadays there are examples of
structures made of glass only.

Apart from the traditional non-

bearing application in
engineering, it is progressively
used for construction of bearing
elements.
 MODULE IV - GLASS AND
TYPES OF GLASS
• Wired glass, GLAZING
• fiber glass,
• laminated glass,
• glass building blocks,
• Heat strengthened glass
• toughened glass
• laminated glass

SPECIAL PURPOSE GLASSES - Assignment

1. Low emissivity glass,
2. Solar control glasses and
3. Variable transmission glass,
4. Fire resistant glass,
5. Self cleaning glass their PROPERTIES AND USES IN BUILDINGS

GLAZING:

• Single, double and triple glazing

• Glazed curtain walls & sky lights.
• Sketches - Structural glazing
Introduction to Glass in Architecture
• It is difficult to conceive the contemporary architecture without glass. In combination with modern
technologies and materials such as steel, concrete, aluminium and other materials, this ancient building
material very successfully contributes to extraordinary appearance of buildings.
• Regardless of it being used for windows, façade or interior partitions, glass connects the space, improves
the quality of space, transmits sufficient light, and the contemporary types of glass may contribute to energy
saving.
• It is known that energy saving is one of the most important architectonic challenges of our age.
• The heat loss through the glass surfacing on the façade or the roof has been significantly reduced owing to
modern glass production and processing technologies.
• Also, more than ever before, there is a concern about the safety of the users and the structure itself. Glass
must nowadays conform to the high standards regarding safety of the users and passers-by, thus they are
made resistant to shocks and abrupt temperature changes, and in chase they are damaged or shattered,
they would not break in.
• The manufacturers tried in this way to keep the risk of injury to a minimum.
Architectural glass comes in three different
strength categories
• Annealed glass is the most commonly used architectural glass.
• It has good surface flatness because it is not heat-treated and therefore not subject to distortion typically
produced during glass tempering. On the downside, annealed glass breaks into sharp, dangerous shards.
• Heat-strengthened and fully-tempered glass are heat-treated glass products, heated and quenched in such a
way to create residual surface compression in the glass. The surface compression gives the glass generally
higher resistance to breakage than annealed glass.
• Heat-strengthened glass has at least twice the strength and resistance to breakage from wind loads or
thermal stresses comparing to annealed glass. The necessary heat treatment generally results in some
distortion compared to annealed glass. Like annealed glass, heat-strengthened glass can break into large
shards. (generally, in facades heat strengthened glass are used )
• Fully-tempered glass (toughened glass) provides at least four times the strength of annealed glass, which
gives it superior resistance to glass breakage.
• It is float or plate glass that has been heated and rapidly cooled, increasing its inherent strength and
ductility. Similar to heat-strengthened glass, the heat-treatment generally results in some distortion.
• If it breaks, fully-tempered glass breaks into many small fragments, which makes it suitable as safety glazing
under certain conditions. It is used for windows that are exposed to high wind pressure or extreme heat or
cold.
Annealed
glass, heat-
strengthened
glass and
fully-
tempered
glass.
 Wired glass
• Annealed Glass can be ultra-clear, clear or colored. It
can be smooth, patterned or have wire set into it.
• Wired glass has 13mm square electrically welded steel
wire mesh sandwiched in its centre during the
manufacturing process.
Polished Georgian Wired
• It is commonly used in fire rated windows and doors to
the maximum sizes and FRR times as tested by the
manufacturers. It is a Grade B safety glass.
• Squarlite is a stippolite pattern providing privacy and
Polished Georgian Wired is clear class.
• Standard and stocked in 6mm Squarelite, 6mm
Polished Georgian Wired.

Squarelite
 WIRED GLASS
• Wired glass is used as a safety glass as it
prevents glass from falling during fire
emergencies.
• Glass is reinforced with wire mesh to make it
more fire-resistant and durable as compared
to float glass.
• Wired glass, which is also known as
Georgian wired glass, was invented by Frank
Shuman.
• Steel wire mesh is placed in the glass during
the manufacturing process.
• The wire mesh acts as a reinforcement. If
the glass breaks due to impact, the pieces of
glass are held by wire reinforcement in
position.
Size & Thickness:
• Wired glass has high resistance to fire as it
does not break when exposed to fire. • Wired glass is available in thickness ranging from 6 mm
• Due to such property, it is also called fire- to 19 mm.
rated glass or fireproof glass. • The standard size of glass sheets is 1370 mm x 1370
• Thus in areas which are prone to fire, people mm.
prefer to install wire glass windows rather • The maximum size of wired glass sheet available is
than float glass windows.
1981 mm x 2540 mm.
• The wire mesh is available in square grids as
well as diamond grids.
•
 WIRED GLASS
ADVANTAGES OF WIRED GLASS:

• Due to wire mesh present in the glass, wired glass blocks fire
and some to enter the building for some time.
• This provides people sufficient time to escape from the
building and thus it helps in preventing life damage in case of
fire emergencies.
• Wired glass can break through impact, but the fragments of
glass stick to the wire mesh and hence help in preventing a
burglary or a theft.

DISADVANTAGES OF WIRED GLASS:

• Placing of wire into the glass makes it actually weakens the glass from the strength standpoint and makes it more susceptible to
breaking.
• Upon breakage, the sharp wires in the glass are exposed, which may serious injuries to persons in the vicinity of the glass.
Hence it is not recommended to install wire glass windows areas where kids are frequently visiting such as schools, institutions,
vicinity of gardens, etc.
• If a clear view is desired, wired glass cannot be used as wires in the glass obstructs and distorts the view.
• Wired glass does not have high durability in areas which are exposed to more rain and humidity, as the wire in the glass will rust
eventually.
WIRED GLASS - application

• It is widely used in places where nominal fire resistance

properties are required.
• Applications:
• Wired glass is generally installed in windows of fire • - Overhead glazings
escape routes of the structure, to gain time for • - Interior partitions
evacuating people in case of fire emergencies.
• - Bathing areas
• Windows in stairwells and in hallways are prime
examples of emergency exits where fire rated wire • - Glazed doors and side panels
glass is a smart addition.
• - Stairs, landings and balustrades
• It is used in roofs, skylights, fire resisting doors and
windows.
 LAMINATED GLASS

• It is a combination of layers of normal glass.

• Laminated glass is a type of safety glass that holds
together when shattered.
• The interlayer keeps the layers of glass bonded even
when broken.
• Weight more, has more thickness, UV proof and sound
proof.
PVB membrane has good tenacity performance and when
the laminated glass breaks due to violent force, the PVB
will absorb a large amount of impact energy and disperse
it rapidly.
Therefore, it’s hard to break the laminated glass and the
shape of the glass may be maintained even if being broken.
Furthermore, personnel inside and outside the buildings
will not be hurt by the glass fragment.
NB: All overhead glazing(skylights, canopy) and railing has
to be laminated glass
 LAMINATED GLASS

• In the event of breaking, it is held in place by an interlayer, typically

of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), between its two
or more layers of glass.
• The interlayer keeps the layers of glass bonded even when broken, and its
high strength prevents the glass from breaking up into large sharp pieces.
• This produces a characteristic spider web cracking pattern when the
impact is not enough to completely pierce the glass.
• In the case of the EVA, the thermoset EVA, offers a complete bounding
(cross-linking) with the material whether it is glass, polycarbonate, PET, or
other types of products.
 LAMINATED GLASS

• Sizes upto 3000 X 5000 mm.

• A full range of clear, tinted and reflective glass combinations and thickness.
• Clear PVB of 0.38mm, 0.76mm and multiples of 0.38 mm thickness.
• Colored PVB on special bulk orders.
• Diverse glass combinations available in single and double glazing.
LAMINATED GLASS
 https://youtu.be/sJbPd1OlxjA

Glass building blocks

• Glass block is a translucent, hollow block of glass
with clear, textured, or patterned faces, made by
fusing two halves together with a partial vacuum
inside. Glass block maybe used in
nonloadbearing exterior and interior walls, and
in conventionally framed window openings.
• Typically, a wall panel is mortared at the sill
support and provided with expansion joints
along the top and sides to allow for movement
and settling.

https://youtu.be/uUvZtHIuY8Q

https://youtu.be/cxDwtgADSH0
 https://youtu.be/E8wl9tXtnys

Glass building blocks

Glass building blocks
Glass building blocks - details
Heat Strengthened Glass
• Heat Strengthened Glass is also known as semi-tempered or semi-toughened glass.
• The heat strengthening process involves first cutting annealed glass to the desired size and shape, edging the
glass as indicated, then heating the annealed glass back up to near 650°C (1200⁰F) and then cooling it
rapidly.
• This rapid cooling causes stress in the glass and forms a compressive laver on the glass surfaces and a
tension layer in the core.
• The heat strengthening process increases the mechanical and thermal strength of annealed glass, making it
historically twice as strong as annealed glass. Heat-strengthened glass tends to have low levels of glass
distortion and bow caused by the strengthening process.
• Upon breaking, the pattern is similar to annealed glass. Except for cutting after strengthening (with
traditional methods) heat-strengthened glass can be fabricated with the same value add coatings and
lamination as annealed glass. Heat-strengthened glass is typically used in areas that

• benefit from low optical distortion,

• need to avoid the potential of spontaneous breakage,
• need increased mechanical strength versus annealed glass,
• are subjected to thermal stress from temperature gradients, and laminated glass applications requiring
larger break patterns such as hurricane, balcony (undrilled) and blast and glass shard retention post-
breakage.
 Heat strengthened glass

• Heat strengthened glass is treated

to be more resistant to breakage
than simple annealed glass.
• It undergoes a similar process to
toughened glass but the resultant
surface compression is not high
enough to result in the
production of small pieces when
the glass is broken.
• It is normally used in applications
that are subject to thermal stress
or require increased strength.
• Heat strengthened glass cannot
be cut after it has been
strengthened.
 Heat strengthened glass

• Heat-strengthened glass is typically specified when additional strength is needed to resist wind pressure, thermal stress or
both, and the additional strength or safety break pattern of fully tempered glass is not required.
• Another advantage of heat-strengthened glass is that when broken, the glass fragments are more similar in size and shape
to annealed glass fragments and thus tend to stay in the opening longer than fully tempered glass particles.
• Although heat-strengthened glass is NOT a safety glazing by building code, this breakage pattern prevents the glass from
falling and injuring someone
• Cannot be used in point fix glazing(spider glazing), because of drill hole. For drill hole we must use FT glass (fully
tempered)
 Tempered Glass - Toughened glass

• Safety glazing, when broken, fractures into relatively small pieces, thereby greatly reducing the likelihood of
serious cutting or piercing injuries in comparison to ordinary annealed glass.
• For some applications, such as glass in doors, tub and shower enclosures and fixed glass in close proximity to a
walking surface, fully-tempered safety glass is required by building codes and ordinances.
• Fully-tempered safety glass is often used for other applications where its strength and/or safety characteristic
are desirable, such as table tops, counter tops, showcase enclosures, refrigeration and food service
equipment, furniture and similar applications.
• Fully-tempered glass also is used in applications when significant additional strength is needed to resist wind
pressure, thermal stress or both.
Tempered Glass - Toughened glass

• Toughened Glass (Tempered Glass) Toughened glass is treated to be far stronger and more
resistant to breakage than simple annealed glass, and to break in a more predictable way when it
does break, thus providing a major safety advantage when compared to annealed glass in almost
all of its applications.
• Toughened glass is made from annealed glass treated with a thermal tempering process.
• Toughened glass has increased mechanical resistance to breakage, and when it does break,
causes it to produce regular, small fragments.
• Toughened glass also has an increased resistance to breakage as a result of stresses caused by
different temperatures within a pane.
• Toughened glass has extremely broad application in products both for buildings and for
automobiles and transport, as well as other areas.
• Car side and rear windows, glass portions of building façades, glass sliding doors and partitions in
houses and offices, glass furniture such as table tops, and many other products typically use
toughened glass.
• Products made from toughened glass often also incorporate other technologies, especially in the
building and automotive and transport sectors. Toughened glass cannot be cut after it has been
toughened.
Tempered Glass - Toughened glass
SPECIAL GLASS COATINGS
• Glass provides high compression strength and perfect transparency – but also the possibility to
alter its transparency through the integration of materials which have a switchable light
transmissivity.
• Today’s coating technologies, as well as the possibility of reinforcing glass with different stiffening
materials; open a nearly endless range of new ways of using glass.
• Glass and façade manufacturers now offer a wider range of affordable glazing system solutions
which will provide better thermal and solar control without sacrificing daylight, and perhaps
control surface temperature at the inside face of the glass to maintain human comfort.
 Self-cleaning or easy-to-clean glass

• Self-cleaning glass is a specific type of glass with a surface that keeps itself free of dirt
• The field of self-cleaning coatings on glass is divided into two categories: hydrophobic and hydrophilic (water loving)
• These two types of coating both clean themselves through the action of water, the former by rolling droplets and the
latter by sheeting water that carries away dirt.
• Hydrophilic coatings based on titania (titanium dioxide), however, have an additional property: they can chemically
break down absorbed dirt in sunlight.
• Self-cleaning or easy-to-clean glass uses titanium dioxide coatings as a catalyst to break up organic deposits.
• It requires direct sunlight to sustain the chemical reaction and rainwater to wash off the residue.
• Anorganic deposits are not affected by the coatings.
 Self-cleaning or easy-to-clean glass
1. When UV light (the yellow arrow shown on the left)
shines on the titanium dioxide coating, electrons (the
tiny, negatively charged particles inside atoms) are
released.
2. The electrons interact with water molecules (H2O) in the
air, breaking them up into hydroxyl radicals (OH·), which
are highly reactive, short-lived, uncharged forms of
hydroxide ions (OH−).
3. These agile hydroxyl radicals attack the hefty organic
(carbon-based) molecules from which most dirt is made,
breaking apart their chemical bonds and turning them
into smaller, harmless substances such as carbon dioxide
and water. This is an example of oxidation.
4. The hydroxyl radicals also make the glass hydrophilic
(water-loving). When it rains, water molecules spread
evenly across it and wipe it clean like a kind of automatic
squeegee!
Self-cleaning or
easy-to-clean glass
 Self-cleaning or easy-to-clean glass
• Advantages
• Self-cleaning windows look great and the coating is meant to keep working for the
lifetime of the window.
• They save time and money (window cleaning can be expensive if you hire someone to
do it) and help to avoid the risk of accidents happening when people wobble up
ladders with buckets of water.
• self-cleaning windows in various different thicknesses (typically 4–10mm), with blue
tints (to reduce solar glare in places such as conservatories), and with heat-reflecting
inner coatings for improved energy efficiency.
• DisAdvantages
• 15–20 percent more costly than conventional glazing.
• Since the self-cleaning process happens slowly and continually, the end result is not
like a sudden visit from the window cleaner: self-cleaning glass is always a work in
progress, and never as clean and sparkling as a freshly cleaned pane (but not as dirty
as an uncleaned one either).
• Another problem is the cleaning process relies on sunlight and rain
 Solar control glass
• A solar control glass is a glass with a special coating designed to reduce the amount of heat entering a
building.
• It reflects and absorbs heat as well as filtering light for reduced glare.
• Using a solar control glass can reduce the need for air-conditioning and blinds. There are many types of solar
control glass offering different aesthetic options; tinted, reflective and neutral.
• Solar control glass has applications for windows and glazed facades in order to modify indoor visual and
thermal comfort in buildings.
• They have ability to reduce transmittance of solar radiation into interiors. The controlled solar transmittance
is useful for buildings with large glazed facades for eliminating both overheating and glare issues.
• The reduction of the transmittance is achieved by: -
• higher reflectance (reflective and mirror coatings on the surface of the glass pane, thin metal layers with thin
dielectric coatings or multilayered dielectric thin films); -
• absorptance (tinted glass, glass with prints, glass with absorptive particles); -
• light scattering (glass with patterned, sand blasted or partly printed or enamelled surface or special glazing
with diffusive component inside of the glass pane).
Fire-rated glazing systems
• There are three available classifications for fire-resistant glass: integrity (E), radiation control (EW)
and insulation (EI).
• Fire-rated glazing systems offer passive fire resistance. They have a fire property or function
which does not warn of, or extinguish, fire. Fire resistance is defined as: The ability of an element
of construction to perform its design function during exposure to fire.
• A fire-resistant glazed system comprises glass, a frame and a glazing and fixing method.
 Solar control glass
• How it works – Glass controls solar heat
radiation from the sun by reflectance,
transmittance and absorptance.
• For solar control purposes these are defined in
terms of the following parameters:
• Reflectance – the proportion of solar radiation
reflected back into the atmosphere
• Direct Transmittance – the proportion of solar
radiation transmitted directly through the glass
• Absorptance – the proportion of solar radiation
absorbed by the glass
 https://youtu.be/YrwBVnbda9M
Low-E glass - low-emissivity glass
• Low-E glass refers to glass with a low-emissivity coating.
• Emissivity is the ability of a material to radiate energy. When heat or light
energy—typically from the sun or HVAC system—is absorbed by glass it is
either shifted away by air movement or re-radiated by the glass surface.
• It reduces heat gain or loss by reflecting long-wave infrared energy (heat) and
therefore, decreases the U-value and solar heat gain, and improves the
energy efficiency of the glazing.
• In general, highly reflective materials have a low emissivity, and dull darker
colored materials have a high emissivity.
• All materials, including windows, re-radiate heat in the form of long-wave
infrared energy depending on the emissivity and temperature of their
surfaces. Radiant energy is one of the important ways heat transfer occurs
with windows.
• Reducing the emissivity of one or more of the window glass surfaces
improves a window’s insulating properties.
• To reduce the emissivity of glass, low-e coatings have been developed to
minimize the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through
glass without compromising the amount of visible light that is transmitted.
 Low-E glass - low-emissivity glass
• How it works – Effectively, low-emissivity glass will reflect
energy back into a building, to achieve much lower heat
loss than ordinary float glass.
• Additionally, different types of low-emissivity glass allow
different amounts of passive solar heat gain which helps
reduce heating requirements and costs, especially in colder
months
• Solar energy enters the building mainly as short wave
radiation but, once inside, it is reflected back by objects
towards the glass as long wave radiation.
• Low-emissivity glass has a coating that allows the
transmission of the sun’s short wave radiation at a much
higher rate than long wave radiation (from the heaters and
objects in the room), providing an effective barrier to heat
loss.
• To maximise energy efficiency all year round, often the
ideal glazing solution balances both solar control and low-
emissivity performance
 VARIABLE TRANSMITTANCE GLASS https://youtu.be/HgADadJxJxg

Removing the
shades and blinds

• Commonly called smart glass or switchable glass, variable transmittance glass can change from light to dark or from
opaque to transparent and back again when exposed to voltage, light or heat.
• The catalyst triggers ions within the glass to align and reduce the amount of light the glass will transmit – the light
transmittance of the glass is variable, depending on the situation, thus the name variable transmittance glass.
• Smart glass technologies include electrochromic, photochromic, thermochromic, suspended-particle, micro-blind,
and polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal devices
• When installed in the envelope of buildings, smart glass creates climate adaptive building shells.
• It adapts automatically to external light conditions and can also be controlled manually via a mobile application or a
switch, or it can be linked to the building’s centralized control system.
• Photochromic coatings - incorporate organic photochromic dyes to produce selfshading glass. Originally
developed for sunglasses, these coatings are self-adjusting to ambient light and reduce visible light
transmission through the glass. They provide a more evenly (in terms of time) distributed illumination of
interior space regardless of exterior variations and they are typically used to provide shading.
• Glass with electrochromic coatings - utilizes a small electrical voltage, adjusted with dimmable ballasts, to
adjust the shading coefficient and visible light transmission.
• Upon switching off the power, they retain the same degree of dimming. In this way it is possible to control
the shading of the façade, and thus illumination and temperature of the interior (Fig. 3). Like photochromic
coatings, they are intended to attain lighting energy savings.
• Thermochromic laminated glazing (TLG) enables to regulate daylight, automatically adapting
dynamically to the continuously changing climatic conditions, aids in reducing the energy needs
of a building and providing thermal comfort. Neither electrical power nor driving unit are
required.
• The polymeric interlayer of TLG is doped with complexes of transition metals, which change their
coordination and transmission or color of the film under influence of light and heat fluxes (Fig. 4).
They are favorable for regulation of interior temperature in comparison to the photochromic
glass, because the external temperature and degree of illumination need not be directly mutually
dependent, especially in winter.
 GLAZING:

• Single, double and triple glazing

• Glazed curtain walls & sky lights.
• Sketches : Structural glazing

https://youtu.be/UCRflfbUshU
GLAZING
Glass Efficiency

number of glass attributes that affect a window’s efficiency.

1.The number of (glazes) panes of glass
2.The thickness of the glass
3.Coatings on the glass
4.Space between the glass
5.The Material separating the glass (spacers)
6.The gas between the glass
7.The frame holding the glass in place
• Single glazed windows basically just keep the rain and wind out.
• Single glazed doors and windows waste a lot of energy. Close to windows it is often not comfortable, in
winter it's too cool and too hot in summer. Then, people often think the window is not tight but in reality it
is usually because the glazing is insufficiently insulated. Modern insulated windows outperform conventional
single glazing in several areas significantly.

• Double glazing is the installation of two sheets of glass, with spacer bars fixed around the edge to keep the
panes apart. Between the two glass sheets is a layer of insulated air; this air space is often is filled with an
inert gas such as argon.
• Double and triple glazing provides MUCH higher levels of insulation than single glazing, as heat is trapped
within the panes. The gap between panes is often filled with air, but sometimes inert gasses (e.g. nitrogen or
argon) are used to boost the insulative properties.
• These insulative layers of air found in double and triple glazing slow down convection and conduction
between the warmer indoor pane and the cooler outdoor pane. As a result, heat energy escapes your home
more slowly, keeping your house warmer for longer.
Thickness: 6 - 16 - 4 means 6mm outer glass, 16mm
space, 4mm inner glass, together 26mm thick glass panel.
Double and Triple Glazing
• U-VALUES
• Thermal transmittance can be
expressed as the U-value.
Simply put, the higher the U-
value, the more heat a window
loses. Generally, the U-values
are;
• Single glazing: 5
• Double glazing: 3
• Triple glazing: 0.8 – 1.6
Double or triple glazing must be viewed as an
investment that will reap rewards in the future
by reducing the money you spend on your
energy bills
Double Glazing
• Bonding of two panes with the
use of aluminum spacer at the
edges and sealing the joint.
• Air is trapped in the cavity. The
desiccants filled in the
aluminum spacer absorbs the
moisture thus making it dry air.
• This is very important to avoid
condensation inside the
double glazed unit.
• The cavity can also be filled
with inert gas like argon or
krypton to get better
insulation. The cavity can vary
from 6mm to 20mm.
Triple Glazing
• Double & Triple Glazing
maximizes heat
reflection technology on
exterior panes, allowing
natural light to enter
while still ensuring the
highest degree of heat
insulation.
• With Double & Triple
Glazing its possible to:
• Lower the overall uValue
• Ensure that light still
enters
• Reflect much of the heat
from outside
Double and triple glazing
Additional benefits of double or triple
glazing over single glazing systems:
• MUCH better insulation.
• MUCH better acoustic absorption.
• Added security through multiple
panes which are also more difficult to
break through.
Drawbacks of multiple glazing
• Higher cost.
• Interstitial condensation can occur if
window seals fail, giving rise to the
window fogging up and sometimes
becoming dirty from the inside.
• More expensive to replace if broken.
 https://youtu.be/bnxwC9u6yOI
CURTAIN WALL
• A non-load bearing external wall supported from
the frame.
• Serve primarily as an enclosure.
• Supported by the structural system, such walls
need to be strong enough to carry only their own
weight and wind pressure
• Nonbearing walls may be supported on the
structural frame of a building, on supplementary
framing (girts or studs, for example) in turn
supported on the structural frame of a building, or
on the floors.
• For the curtain wall framing box or solid members
of steel or aluminum alloy are normally employed.
• To meet requirements, curtain walls may vary in
construction from a simple siding to a multilayer-
sandwich wall.
• They may be job-assembled or be delivered to the
job completely prefabricated.
• CURTAIN WALL
• LOADS ON
CURTAIN
WALL
CURTAIN WALL
Fixing Curtain Walling to the Structure

• In curtain walling systems it is the

main vertical component or mullion
which carries the loads and
transfers them to the structural
frame at every or alternate floor
levels depending on the spanning
ability of the mullion.
• At each fixing point the load must
be transferred and an allowance
made for thermal expansion and
differential movement between the
structural frame and curtain
walling.
• The usual method employed is
slotted bolt fixings.
Anchorage to the Building -
In curtain wall critical part is its
anchorage to the building
a) Fixed Anchorage Assembly
b) Movable Anchorage Assembly
CONVENTIONAL (STICK) CURTAINWALL SYSTEM
In this system the wall is installed piece by piece. Usually the mullion members are installed first, followed by
transoms (horizontal members), the panels, and finally the glazing or window units.
Conventional Curtain wall system

• Epdm gaskets – for

weather sealing
Structural Glazing

2-sided structural glazing

In these systems silicone is used only on 2 sides of the glass panel. Two other
sides of the glass are supported by a mechanical frame or another non-structural
method. These systems are prefabricated or assembled at construction site.
2-sided structural glazing
In these systems silicone is used only on 2 sides of the glass panel. Two other
sides of the glass are supported by a mechanical frame or another non-structural
method. These systems are prefabricated or assembled at construction site.
SEMI-UNITIZED STRUCTURALLY GLAZED CURTAINWALL SYSTEM
It is a compromise between conventional ‘stick’ and the unitized
curtainwall systems. The mullion and transom grid is fabricated at site and it is fixed to the
structural frame by fixing brackets and angle cleats.
Structural Glazing

• It refers to a method of retaining the glass in a window

storefront or curtain wall.
• Instead of the edges of the glazing being capture in a
pocket of the framing and secured in place with gaskets.
• The structurally glazed is retained on one or more sides by
an adhesive/sealent , normally silicone.
Structural Glazing - Advantages
• There are less visual interruptions due to the lack of metal on the
exterior (and potentially the interior), creating a seamless, continuous
glass look.
• Traditional captured curtain wall systems have pressure plates and
caps that can conduct large amounts of heat in or out of the façade
depending on the season.
• Since there is little to no exposed exterior metal, there is also less
thermal bridging with structural glazing, saving on energy
consumption costs.
Structural Glazing
A typical structural glazing junction consists of
• Structural bonding providing a static effective connection
• Insulating glass edge seal adapted on wind and dead loads and with density
function
• Weather seal
The structural silicones provide a high sheer and Young’s modulus for
compensation or transferring
• Dynamic loads (wind suction, wind pressure, traffic loads)
• Static loads (dead and snow loads)
• Differences in the thermal dilatations of involved materials such as glass
and aluminium
Structural Glazing

4-sided structural glazing

The most widespread and economic system of structural glazing. Glass is
supported from 4 sides by structural silicone. These systems are usually
prefabricated and then installed at the construction site.
Unitized system
With unitized systems even if it is 90
storied buildings nothing happens..
 Detail sketch

https://youtu.be/eiIYg2ipy-w
STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAME
ANCHORAGE - REINFORCED CONCRETE FRAME
1.CABLE STAYED GLAZING
2.FIN SUPPORTED GLAZING
Point supported glass systems - FIN SUPPORTED
• GLASS FINS REPRESENT THE
EARLIEST FORM OF
STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADE
• A GLASS FIN IS REPLACES A
FRAME OR MULLION.
• THE REACTION LOAD
TRANSFERRED TO THE TOP &
BOTTOM OF THE FIN SHOE.
• FIN SYSTEMS ARE ALSO
DESIGNED WITH BOLTED
JOINTS.
• IT CREATE GREATER
VISIBILITY & INCREASE THE
NATURAL LIGHT IN
INTERIORS.
https://youtu.be/tiV6K4pS
JAc

https://youtu.be/rbPqs5uVu
es
Point supported glass systems – fin supported
• They are the most transparent structurally glazed systems available on the market today.
• They can be custom engineered to fit any opening.
• From the exterior, they have silicone sealants between the joints like other structurally
glazed systems, but have far less obstructed views looking from the inside out and vice
versa due to the elimination of vertical and/or horizontal aluminum mullions.
• When using glass fins as a vertical back-up structure, the whole façade can appear to be
virtually transparent.
• Glass is held in at specific points using stainless steel fittings to transfer deadload and
wind loads back to the structure. Most glass types are available for point supported
glazing, including: insulating glass units, low-e coated glass, laminated glass, monolithic,
etc.
• These glasses can be paired with a host of back-up structures to create vertical walls,
roofs and skylights, canopies, elevator enclosures, or windscreens.
Point supported glass systems- Cable Supported
• Vertical cable tension walls (sometimes also known as cable nets) are the
thinnest point supported glass system structures that can make the tallest
unsupported spans, but require the largest amount of load on the
boundary structure and are usually the most expensive.
• There are also stainless steel tension structure systems that are deeper, but
put less loads on the boundary structure; however, these systems have
similar costs to that of vertical cable walls.
• There can even be hybrid combinations of horizontal steel and
cables/tension rods as well. Glass fin walls and glass on steel systems (steel
tubes, plate beams, or pipes) are usually the least expensive option and put
far less loading on the boundary structure.
• They do, however, require greater depth of the vertical members to resist
loads.
VERTICAL FACADES WITH STEEL MULLIONS

• Steel elements provide great flexibility of choice

where glazing mullions are required to support a
large area of façade. For example, in a double
height space, mullions can be spaced several metres
apart (e.g. four metres or more), supporting
horizontal transoms to provide transparency when
viewed obliquely.

• Gaskets fixed to the steel mullions provide the support

to the inside surface of the glazing.
• A pressure plate bolted to the steel element is used to
clamp the glazing in place.
• Deflection is often a limiting criterion for the design of
the supporting structure and the higher elastic
modulus of steel compared with aluminium means that
for long spans, the former is used by preference as the
material for mullions. The mullion element can take a
wide range of forms: tee and RHS sections.
VERTICAL FACADES WITH STEEL MULLIONS

• In the glazed enclosure illustrated (right and below),

four-bolt and two-bolt “spiders” are used to provide
gravity and lateral support to the glazing. Suitable
allowances for construction tolerances must
typically be made in the connection of the spiders
to the mullions.

Stainless steel four-bolt spider

• Allowances for relative thermal movement are

provided in the bolted fixings to the glass. These
allowances must be preserved for this purpose and
must not be taken up in construction tolerances.

Spiders bolted to RHS

Spider Connection
VERTICAL FACADES WITH STEEL MULLIONS

• Truss mullions with horizontal arms are

used to provide lateral and vertical support
to a glazed entrance.

• Rod or cable elements may be

incorporated into the truss design, and
lateral tensile systems are often used to
stabilize the facade structure.
• Simple truss elements can be located at
every vertical joint in the glass grid, but are
often interspersed with one or two cable
trusses in a repeating pattern as a means
to lighten the structural profile of the
facade.
 • Increased bending stiffness in mullions can
be achieved by using small diameter cable-
stays.
• Mullions can also be formed only from
cables as illustrated (right and below).
cable elements • Cables are tensioned to maintain the
stiffness of the element under reversal of
loading.
VERTICAL FACADES WITH STEEL MULLIONS

• Truss mullions with horizontal arms are

used to provide lateral and vertical support
to a glazed entrance.

• Point-Supported Applications for Transportation Hubs

 MAST TRUSS
• The mast truss utilizes cable bracing as a
strategy to reduce visual mass.
• This structural type is named after its nautical
origins: a central compression element (or
mast) is stiffened by cable bracing that
incorporates spreaders to give shape to
tensile elements, thereby stiffening the mast
along its length in resistance to buckling
forces.
• Braces can be positioned with bilateral,
trilateral or quadrilateral symmetry about the
center mast. Mast trusses are often used as
the primary structure in a hierarchical truss
system.
 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF CURTAIN WALLS

1. Provide the necessary resistance to penetration by the elements.

2. Have sufficient strength to carry own self weight and provide resistance to both
positive and negative wind pressures.
3. Provide required degree of fire resistance glazed areas are classified in the
Building Regulations as unprotected area, therefore any required fire resistance
must be obtained from the infill or undersill panels and any backing wall or beam.
4. Be easy to assemble, fix and maintain.
5. Provide the required degree of sound and thermal insulation.
6. Provide for thermal and structural movements.
7. The exterior surface of a curtain wall should be made of a durable material,
capable of lasting as long as the building. Maintenance should be a minimum; initial
cost of the wall is not so important as the life-cycle cost (initial cost plus
maintenance and repair costs).
https://youtu.be/kCb6gVBqeG0
UNITISED STRUCTURALLY GLAZED (USG) CURTAINWALL SYSTEM
In this system the wall is composed entirely of large framed units pre-assembled at the
factory, complete with spandrel panels (if any) and also pre-glazed.
Unitized structurally glazed (USG) panels consist of aluminum alloy split mullions and split
transom on to which the glass panels are directly fixed with structural silicone glazing
sealant without a sub-frame to form designed arrangement of vision and spandrel panels.

https://youtu.be/2-fk8rjPyJI
GLAZED CURTAIN WALLS
• Structural glazing systems, in their simplest form, are types
of curtain wall systems consisting of glass that is bonded or
anchored back to a structure without the use of
continuously gasketed aluminum pressure plates or caps.
• The glass can be comprised of monolithic, laminated, dual-
glazed or even triple-glazed insulating glass units (IGUs).
• The back-up structure may use horizontal and/or vertical
aluminum mullions or be a glass mullion, steel blade, cable
or stainless steel rod.
• The interior and exterior may use extruded silicone/EPDM
(Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber) gaskets, or a
wet sealed silicone depending on the system.
• This system creates a completely clean, flush exterior
appearance while the interior members have many
different options depending on design and budget.
 Or Structural Glazing

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STRUCTURAL GLAZING

• Structural glazing is otherwise known as frameless glazing.

• It is a system of toughened glass cladding without the
visual impact of surface fixings and supporting
components.
• Unlike curtain walling, the self-weight of the glass and
wind loads are carried by the glass itself and transferred
to a subsidiary lightweight support structure behind the
glazing.
 Structural Glazing
• Silicone Structural Glazing (SSG)
is a method of attaching a glass
panel to a metal frame using a
structural silicone adhesive
sealant.
• The sealant contact dimension
(bite) and thickness are designed
to provide a method of structural
support to glass, an airtight and
weather-tight seal and a flexible
connection that absorbs
differential movements between
dissimilar materials from wind,
thermal or seismic loading.
• The joints are not intended to
absorb live load movements due
to floor loadings.
• This method of glass attachment
provides a smooth exterior glass
facade on a building either as a 2
sided, 3 sided or 4 sided system.
Structural Silicone Glazing – Detail drawing section

Structure Glazing refers to a method of

retaining the glass in a window, storefront or
curtainwall.
Instead of the edges of the glazing being
capture in a pocket of the framing and
secured in place with gaskets, the
structurally-glazed glass is retained on one or
more sides by an adhesive, normally silicone.
Structural Glazing
• Structural sealant glazing
involves attaching glass,
metal, or other panel
materials to a building’s
window or curtain wall
metal framing system in
place of using gaskets and
other mechanical
attachments.
• Only structural quality
silicone sealants are used
since they must be able to
withstand ultraviolet
radiation, weathering
effects, wind load and other
stresses, and transfer these
affects to the metal framing
system.
Structural Glazing
• For effective structural sealant
glazing joint design, the following
structural joint parameters must be
considered:
• “Bite”—defined as the effective
structural contact dimension of a
structural sealant required on both
the panel and frame faces to
accommodate the required transfer
of loads.
• “Thickness”—defined as the
minimum structural sealant
dimension between structurally
bonded substrates (the panel and
frame) to facilitate the installation of
a sealant and to reduce stress on the
structural sealant joint that results
from differential thermal movement.
SKYLIGHTS
SKYLIGHTS