Design Criteria for Glass Cladding Subjected to Wind Loads

Abstract

The safety and cost of glass cladding facades subjected to wind loads depend upon the criteria used for their design. These criteria specify the design wind loads and the allowable panel loads. The present paper reviews the following: (1) the evolution in recent years of methods for the estimation and specification of design wind loads for building facades; (2) recent developments concerning the estimation and specification of allowable loads for glass cladding panels, and controversies surrounding these developments; and (3) recent developments in structural reliability as applied to glass cladding, which allow rational decisions to be made concerning the adoption of satisfactory design criteria specifying both design wind loads and allowable panel loads. It is shown that, in view of recent changes in methods for estimating design wind loads and allowable panel loads, it would be imprudent or wasteful to adopt a standard specifying allowable panel loads without giving due consideration to the overall reliability aspects of the cladding glass design problem. Comments are offered concerning the development of such a standard.