Innovation Through Design and Engineering

The architectural desire for aesthetically slender curtainwall framing sight lines prompted Dow Corning and CDC to collaborate to optimize silicone joint designs. Extensive computer modeling using finite element analysis was conducted on silicone joint designs.

Engineered Trapezoidal Silicone Joints

In a typical curtainwall assembly, where silicone adheres in a square cavity, the finite rotation of the glass at the perimeter seal under negative load will induce the greatest movement at the edge of the silicone joint. The concept behind the new sealant joint is that rather than force the sealant to fight against the finite rotation of the glass at the perimeter, the sealant joint is designed such that the silicone at the perimeter joint has additional movement capacity to allow for the glass to rotate more freely. FEA modeling indicates stress reduction can be achieved by allowing the silicone to rotate with the glass under large wind loads.

Features/Benefits

• Enables narrower mullions for high-performance curtainwall designs.
• Improve design aesthetics for high wind load applications.
• Reduce bulky structural silicone glazing (SSG) profile dimensions in hurricane zones and high wind load designs.
• Engineered design to better distribute stress under load and lower peak stresses in the structural silicone.
• Increase natural daylighting by increasing vision width when mullion sizes are reduced