Curtain Wall Laboratory Testing
Curtain Wall Testing, also called Mock-Up Testing, was pioneered in Miami several decades ago. The laboratory provides a structure to which the curtain wall contractor fixes his specimen which is then enclosed to form an air-tight chamber. Mock-Ups are usually at least three modules wide and two stories high, but can be much bigger, and they must include movement joints. Besides the basic tests of Air Infiltration, Static Water Penetration and Structural Load, there are a number of other procedures and tests designed to verify the performance of the wall in accordance with the specified standards.
Laboratory Testing verifies that the design of the proposed system is capable, when assembled under ideal conditions in the laboratory, of meeting the design criteria. It also provides an incentive to the contractor’s team because it shows them that the system can and must be put together properly in order to serve its purpose, and it gives assurance to the project management team that this aspect of the project will meet the project requirements. Every large job should be tested whether or not the system has been tested before; every job is different and the installers have to know that quality is important to the client’s team.
Our laboratory can accommodate up to 10 different mock-ups and or very large mock-ups (presently up to 15m x 13m but expandable) and very high pressures. We are accredited by ENAS (the Emirates National Accreditation Service) to ISO 17025 (the ISO 9000 of the laboratory world) and our results therefore universally acceptable. The lab is managed by our Curtain Wall Testing Manager, Clarence Facun, who has been with us for many years and conducted scores of tests.
