Advanced and Emerging Materials for Testing a Curtain Wall Connection Element for Improved Seismic Performance

The research for emerging and disruptive new materials and advanced technologies is a driver of technological innovation in both industry and academia. The experimental research of advanced materials is a constantly evolving field, concerning the need to respond to increasingly advanced technical performance, even in the construction sector and specifically for Building Envelopes. The European Commission supports the development of innovative technologies, calling for interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals with expertise in design, engineering and materials science to accelerate the growth of high-value products and technologies and provide solutions to major environmental and, not least, social challenges. The contribution is in this context and concerns ongoing experimental research, which investigates the dynamic behavior of non-structural elements of the Facade subjected to the action of the earthquake, through the mechanical compatibility between the building structure and the Envelope, in contrast to the common practice of entrusting the seismic resistance to the joints present between the elements that constitute the facade. For this reason, the research aims to test a connection element frame-facade and supporting structure that is able to withstand deformations due to the action of the earthquake, to improve the management of the response of the effects of vibration on buildings, and to mitigate the stresses transferred to the primary support structure. The connecting element will be a so-called "sacrifice element", able to control the dynamic behavior of the entire stressed Facade system. The application limitations of these dynamic response devices lie in design difficulty, high cost, and dimensional characteristics. Faced with such, it is necessary to advance knowledge and experimentation in the field of connections that move in the elastic-plastic field to ensure, in-service conditions, its functionality, not only about the safety of occupants but also about environmental requirements that affect the proper use of the building (air and water permeability, thermal and acoustic insulation). In this sense, the paper's objective is to carry out a reasoned survey of advanced materials that can ensure stability and functionality with respect to the problem identified to design experimentation of the element of connection and sacrifice. The results of the investigations conducted so far aim to increase innovation in the field of advanced materials for extreme applications, for the constraints on the implementation of the technologies (increasing element sizes, higher mechanical strengths, better performance), exploiting the superelastic effect (SE) and the shape memory effect (SME). Thus, it seems clear that the potential of the two unique properties for Facade Design applications is a valuable tool for investigating dynamic behaviors that exist in nature as well.