Thin glass sandwich panel designed for visual comfort
Designing the core of the panel to dynamically enhance the visual comfort of the façade
G.E. van der Ham (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Christian Louter – Mentor (TU Delft - Applied Mechanics)
A. Luna Navarro – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Architectural Technology)
Jun Wu – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Materials and Manufacturing)
H.R. Schipper – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Applied Mechanics)
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Abstract
The main focus of this thesis is on a thin glass sandwich panel combined with a three-dimensional printed core pattern. The core pattern provides stiffness to the panel, but it also influences the daylight transmission. The goal of this research is to design a façade system which can dynamically improve the daylight performance, effectively control the illuminance inside the building together with preventing disturbing glare.
The research first evaluates the theory behind thin glass, the structural sandwich structure and how the design of a façade panel correlates with its visual comfort. The properties of existing dynamic systems are evaluated, together with exploring other possible dynamic systems that can be integrated in the panel.
The resulting system, a hexagonal core pattern with integrated inflatables, is evaluated on its structural performance and daylight performance using analyses executed in the grasshopper model. This is further expanded by studying the structural performance of more complex core geometry using Diana Finite Element analyses. From the results of these evaluations, a design strategy is created which is able to find the optimal properties of the inflatable façade system.
This design strategy is then applied to a case study, to show both the design of a single façade panel, as well as the full façade system of the whole building. The final result is the design strategy for the dynamic inflatable façade system.