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