Optimal Design of a Reinforced Fixation and Enclosure System for transportation and handling of Skinned Curtain Walls

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A universal enclosure and lifting fixture is proposed to handle large prefabricated curtain walls. Curtain walls are simply sheets of glass surrounded by a metallic frame that are installed on the facade of a building. The curtain walls come in an array of sizes and weights, all of them massive in size and dangerous to the worker handling them. Handling here means to load these single or double skinned panels onto and unload them off trailers, encapsulate them during transportation, from facility to construction site (for protection), raise them using on-site cranes, rotate them from the horizontal to the vertical orientation mid-air, and finally support their installation onto buildings. The challenge put forth is to develop a fixture that can handle, not one, but two panels at the same time because manufacturers in this industry are constantly required to install more panels in less time. Dr. Ahmed Azab at the University of Windsor will work with Contract Glaziers Inc. to develop this fixture and enclosure system. A successfully implemented project would allow the company (Contract Glaziers Inc.) to glaze buildings quicker all the while cutting costs and providing a safer environment for the workers. This technique is unprecedented and will raise the capability of this Canadian company 10 fold; providing faster services for local construction and becoming more competitive abroad. This is a simple product with an array of integrated solutions that improve every step of this company's operations; beginning with the finished good, all the way to on-site installation and pushes the prefabrication industry forward.