Urgent- Regarding Continuity in mullion/Aluminum profile of Curtain wall at support.

[Arbu]

Dear All,

I am designing Aluminium CW, and I am planning to take continuity for moment at the floor connection. CW is for for middle east region, there is a expansion gap at every floor . In same expansion joint I am planning to insert steel sleeve with some considerable length so it will transfer moment. The hand sketch for arrangement has shown below. Please advice me about precaution need to take for effective transfer of moment. The 10 mm gap has given for axial deformation. There will be packing between mullion and sleeve which will wont allow easily rotation. And please let me know any analysis method to prove this one.

 

[normm]

Arbu

As I see from your sketch the vertical load of upper mullion and glass will be transferred from the upper mullion to the lower mullion through the sleeve. Is that your intention?
Once you have tightened the bolt in the slotted hole during erection, the silicon gap for expansion will be ineffective.

 

[MIStructE_IRE]

How are you accommodating slab deflection?

 

[KootK]

In the curtain wall industry, I've seen a lot of folks lap the sleeves with the main member 1.5 x D. So your 2.0 x D compares well with that. I'd not think that a very rigorous check but I've seen it crop up on several occasions. Other things to consider:

1) What is the packing and how well will the packing to the job that you're asking of it?

2) Owing to front and back tube wall flexibility, most of the load transfer probably happens at the corners of the sleeve.

3) Can the sleeve itself handle the moment?

If you search "tube in tube connections" here, that will like generate a lot of design guidance. It's a connection configuration that crops up regularly here in various situations such as utility pole connections and architecturally exposed HSS connections. Studied in detail, it's a pretty complex thing.

 

[NorthCivil]

I think its a bit of a stretch to acheive full fixed end connections on stacking curtainwall like this. the mullion probably has an odd shape, and the sleeve that slots into it probably will not be that snug of a fit.

The fit has to be very tight to transfer moment. If you try to acheive a very tight fit, you will be left with no room for vertical expansion/contraction, which is much more important to maintain (especially in the middle east).