title: The Structural Performance and Design of Aluminium Cladding Systems
Creators: name: Hussain, Iqrar
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: aluminium cladding
subject: impact loading
subject: four-point bending

description: Combustible elements on the external facades of high-rise buildings were banned until the early 1990s, after which they were allowed to be installed to a performance standard under the Building Code of Australia (BCA). It was this change in the building code that led to the increased use of Aluminium Composite Panels (ACPs) in the industry. However, after horrific events like the Lacrosse high-rise building fire in Melbourne (2014), the Grenfell Tower in London (2017), and the Marina Torch Dubai (2015 and 2017), the building regulators in Australia restricted the use of ACP in building construction. Builders and developers are now required to adhere to restrictions on ACPs for new construction due to a loss of trust caused by a series of fire incidents and a government-announced ban. This has led to the realization of the real and urgent need for re-cladding. Thousands of buildings nationwide must undergo the removal of potentially hazardous flammable cladding to ensure safety. Consequently, the industry, which shifted from solid aluminium panels to aluminium composite panels three decades ago due to their extensive benefits, is reverting to the use of plain solid and extruded aluminium panels for cladding. Aluminium cladding panels, valued for their durability and aesthetic appeal, serve as crucial protective barriers against external forces like wind and rain. However, in regions prone to cyclones, such as South-East and Far North Queensland, wind pressure and debris pose potential threats to these panels. Ensuring the appropriateness of design and resilience is imperative. Unlike previous research that predominantly focuses on central projectile impacts, this study addresses the critical edge-on impact scenario, particularly relevant in practical applications like cladding, especially near supports specified in AS/NZ 1170.2. Real-world scenarios rarely involve perpendicular impacts on wall cladding, highlighting the necessity to explore oblique impact performance. The influence unexplored. Furthermore, no research investigates the response of cladding panels to timber projectiles (which is the requirement of AS1170.2), leaving a gap in understanding the key structure and load-related parameters that control the response of these panels. Additionally, there is a lack of study on the structural performance of extruded aluminium panels exposed to static wind loading and wind-borne debris impact. Design guidelines for predicting the response of plain solid and extruded aluminium cladding panels under static wind loading and impact loading are also unavailable. A research project was established at Griffith University, Nathan campus to experimentally and numerically examine the response of aluminium cladding panels under static wind and dynamic impact loading. The finite element models were verified using test results. The verified numerical model was then used to conduct a detailed parametric study and develop design guidelines. [...]