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Exterior walls primarily determine the efficiency of maintaining
the overall climate in the workplace during the cold winter and hot summer months.
The use of AERCON wall panels is a logical choice for use with industrial and
commercial buildings.
For legitimate consideration within the construction market,
the wall panels must be erected quickly and efficiently while maintaining a high
standard of in-place quality. When these installation factors are achieved, the
end result translates into economy.
AERCON has addressed these issues by supplying a technologically
advanced product to the commercial building market. A building, the design of which
has been coordinated using AERCON products, can be constructed to attain minimized
effort and expense. A building so designed will then contain one of the finest sound
and thermal insulation materials available in today's market. The acoustic ambiance
associated with AERCON materials provides the highest quality room environment.
The capabilities of wall panels are not confined to exterior
walls only. The wall panels can easily be used for non-load bearing interior
walls and fire walls. All of these applications, which are already being used
around the world, can also be utilized in the United States. The possibilities
are unlimited.
Fabrication
Wall panels are supplied on the basis of Strength Class AC4
and AC6. The maximum panel length is 20'-0". The standard panel height/width is
2'-0". A nominal panel thickness of 8", 10" or 12" is available depending on the
design loads and span requirements.
Panel Cutting and Openings
All panels may be cut at various angles and may contain openings
throughout the panel. However, the size, location and type of cut or opening should
be coordinated with AERCON prior to the design phase to avoid any unnecessary field
modifications. The reason for this is that every opening, notch or cut (round,
rectangular, diagonal) causes additional stress on the area around the potential
cut. Any additional reinforcement requirements can be taken into account during the
design and fabrication process.
Panel System
Working with a 2'-0" standard panel width can lead to
construction efficiency. The standard panel should be coordinated and adjusted for a
building elevation that contains a strip of windows or other façade interruptions.
Panel Thickness
There are a number of factors that determine the thickness of
an AERCON wall. In addition to any requirements that are established for acoustical
and thermal insulation, the lateral loads directly affect the design. In most cases,
an 8" thick wall panel is sufficient to resist the design loads.
Wall Heights
The height for AERCON horizontal wall panels is unlimited.
Special provisions for construction limitations in high rise applications are
required as shown.
Wall Anchors
Wall anchors should be specified by the Design Professional based
on the project specifications. Typical plates and connection details are shown in the
Construction Details Section.
Deflection
The allowable lateral deflection of AERCON wall panels due to
lateral load is L/240.
Lateral Support
For AERCON wall panels, the required minimum bearing length for
resistance to lateral loads is 11/2".
Supports for Panel Weight
When designing a support for the self-weight resulting from
an individual panel or multiple stacked panels, the contact area between a panel
and its support must result in a bearing stress that does not exceed the allowable
values as shown in the table below. The minimum bearing dimension in any direction is 4".
Design of Wall Panel Connections
A key aspect of AERCON non-load bearing wall panel systems is
the connection between a panel and the superstructure. For most situations,
a wall plate anchor connection is used. Wall plate anchors and other connection types,
as shown in the Construction Details Section, are designed to transfer lateral loads
from a wall panel to the supporting structure. The design of these connections is
relatively simple. The following design example and available connection types will
enable the Design Professional to specify the appropriate connection at each desired
location within the wall panel system. The rated capacity of the wall plate anchors is
a function of the AAC Strength Class. While AC4 and AC6 are the typical manufactured
Strength Classes, wall panels may be specified as AC3.3 or AC4.4 to coincide with
the published capacity values.
Example
Design Assumptions:
Design Load = 35 psf
Strength Class = AC4.4
Panel Length = 15 ft (Distance from Grid 5 to 6)
Panel Height = 2 ft each
Panel Thickness = 8 in Nominal
Size of Opening = 4 ft x 4 ft (Centered in bay)
Connection A
Reaction at Connection A = 35 psf * (1 ft + 1 ft) * 15 ft/2 = 525
lbs based on one-quarter of the gross area of Panel 1 and onequarter of the gross area
of Panel 2.
Use Fixinox Anchor 69 913 or 70 817 (Capacity = 675 lbs) depending
on the support arrangement. For the 70 817 style of anchor, to connect two adjacent
horizontal panels to the same column, one anchor rail would be required located at
the column centerline.
Connection B
Reaction at Connection B = 35 psf * (2 ft + 1 ft) * 15 ft/2 =
787.5 lbs simplistically based on the gross area of one Panel 3, one-quarter of
the gross area of the opening, and onequarter of the gross area of Panel 2.
Use Fixinox Anchor 68 817 or 68 815 (Capacity = 1050 lbs).
For these styles of anchor, to connect two adjacent horizontal panels to the
same column, two anchor rails would be required, each shifted relative to the
column centerline.
Connection C
The two Panel 3s on each side of the opening are designed based
on the panels acting as unreinforced AAC, spanning between the Panel 2 above the
opening and the Panel 2 below the opening. Each joint in this area is mortared
together to achieve this continuity. Therefore, Connection C is not required for
lateral load transfer but is used primarily for erection stability until the mortar
has set.
Use Fixinox Anchor 69 913 or 70 817 (Capacity = 675 lbs) to
match Connection A style.
Connection D
Reaction at Connection D = 35 psf * (1 ft) * 15 ft/2 = 262.5 lbs
based on one-quarter of the gross area of Panel 1. Use Fixinox Anchor 69 913 or 70
817 (Capacity = 675 lbs).
While it may seem efficient to specify various anchor types
based on the required load capacity, the number of anchor types on a project
should be minimized in order to facilitate an easier erection process. Inventorying,
sorting, finding, and installing only one or two types of anchors is much
simpler than handling four or five types.
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