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(JBED) - Summer 2006 - The Whole Building Design Guide

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eferences ASTM F2248 Standard Practice<br />

for Specifying an Equivalent 3-Second<br />

Duration <strong>Design</strong> Load for Blast Resistant<br />

Glazing Fabricated with Laminated Glass,<br />

a static design methodology. Except for<br />

retrofit applications, fragment retention<br />

film is not considered a glazing alternative.<br />

This year, the American Architectural<br />

Manufacturers Association published<br />

AAMA 510-06 Voluntary <strong>Guide</strong> Specification<br />

for Blast Hazard Mitigation for Fenestration<br />

Systems (available at www.aamanet.org).<br />

<strong>The</strong> document establishes<br />

standard test sizes for fenestration system<br />

evaluation and comparison.<br />

THE DESIGN PROCESS<br />

<strong>The</strong> design process may be different<br />

from project to project. In some cases, an<br />

experienced blast consultant will be required<br />

to conduct a vulnerability assessment<br />

and recommend blast loading requirements<br />

in terms of pressure and impulse, as well as<br />

the acceptable level of performance for the<br />

fenestration system. Blast consultants often<br />

design programs to test proposed systems—at<br />

laboratories with shock tubes or<br />

in an open-air arena setting.<br />

<strong>The</strong> U.S. State Department now has<br />

three standard designs for small, medium<br />

and large embassy projects that are constructed<br />

on a design-build basis. Blast resistant<br />

exteriors are part of the master<br />

plan for the security of these buildings.<br />

Fenestration design for embassies has<br />

been addressed by U.S. State Department<br />

standards, which call for a higher level of<br />

performance than other blast resistant<br />

window and curtain wall systems. Special<br />

attention has been given to attachments<br />

and frame details of these systems. One<br />

such system incorporates vertical and horizontal<br />

tubes or muntins that support the<br />

laminated glass in the window. <strong>The</strong> system<br />

is designed to transfer the load from<br />

the glazing to the structural muntins and<br />

frame and ultimately to the adjacent structure<br />

(Valerie Block and David Rinehart,<br />

“Security for U.S. Embassies,” Glass, June<br />

2004, pp 67-68).<br />

TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE<br />

As terrorist threats increase, the concern<br />

for building protection is expanding<br />

from government buildings—courthouses,<br />

military housing, and embassies—to<br />

commercial building projects. Because<br />

building codes in the United States represent<br />

minimum standards of construction,<br />

it is unlikely that mandatory requirements<br />

for security will be established any time<br />

soon for commercial construction. As a<br />

voluntary solution, building owners and insurance<br />

companies may be the pivotal<br />

force in driving the adoption of security<br />

glass solutions.<br />

It is clear that designers are placing a<br />

greater importance on the combined benefits<br />

of hurricane and seismic resistance,<br />

bomb blast and forced entry protection,<br />

and better acoustical and energy performance.<br />

Laminated glass installed in a properly<br />

designed fenestration system can deliver<br />

all of these benefits, but most<br />

importantly, it can protect people inside<br />

and outside of buildings from glass-related<br />

injuries and the buildings themselves from<br />

catastrophic collapse and damage. ■<br />

Valerie Block is a Senior Marketing Specialist<br />

with DuPont <strong>Building</strong> Innovations,<br />

Wilmington, DE. Tammy Amos is a Marketing<br />

Specialist with DuPont Glass Laminating<br />

Solutions, Wilmington, DE.<br />

40 Journal of <strong>Building</strong> Enclosure <strong>Design</strong>

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