The architect specified 2,000 preglazed panels of various sizes on the project including curtain wall modules of five feet wide by twenty-seven feet tall in one single span of glass. No module of this size had ever been tested to Miami-Dade standards before.
Image by Jorge Molina, Florida Urban Photos
The construction of the Midfield Terminal Complex at Southwest Regional Airport in Fort Myers, Florida included 80,000 square feet of glazed curtain wall – all hurricane/impact/blast-resistant. The architect specified 2,000 preglazed panels of various sizes on the project including curtain wall modules of five feet wide by twenty-seven feet tall in one single span of glass. No module of this size had ever been tested to Miami-Dade standards before.
Design specifications requiring a single span of glass meeting Miami-Dade specifications larger than any other tested before was a challenge, but passing blast testing added a new dimension. Passing mockup testing was critical. Failure would mean a loss of essential time and added expense.
BC Industries provided the die-shapes, glass thicknesses, glass and metal materials. Tremco’s design engineering team conducted adhesion tests for the silicone sealants, Proglaze II and Spectrem 1, to determine appropriate primers and cleaning solutions. The proper gasketing was created in conjunction with the appropriate silicone bite for proper compression and adhesion to pass the stringent testing required and provide optimal performance no matter what conditions might be encountered. Though spans of glass this size had never been tested before, the glazing system provided by Tremco passed not only the Miami-Dade standards but Category 3 blast testing without a single silicone failure.
