Drift performance of facade systems

Façade systems in Australia have evolved to suit marketplace demands from an aesthetic, economic and sustainable perspective. The structural design of façade involves the analysis and design of the panels and connections to resist the out-of plane wind pressures and to accommodate in-plane deflections resulting from wind induced building drift, long term floor deflections and thermal movement. In addition, the façade systems need to be able to resist earthquake loading without collapse and an important performance parameter is the ultimate drift capacity of the façade, particularly for glazed curtain wall systems. A literature review has been conducted investigating glazed curtain walls including current trends, damage reported in past earthquakes and research into the seismic performance and drift capacity. This paper also describes the finite element modelling techniques used to investigate the in-plane performance of glazed façades along with a comparison with previous experimental results.