A novel multi-functional water façade system for energy saving and blast resisting

• Energy saving and blast resisting can be combined into one single multi-functional water façade system.
• The water façade system can be used in harnessing solar energy and reduce space cooling load.
• Confined water was shown to improve the blast resistant performance of water façade system.
• The blast response of water façade system can be predicted using the proposed analytical model.

A novel multi-functional water façade system with the combined function of energy saving and blast resisting is presented in this paper. The façade system utilizes water confined in a thin tank to harness the solar thermal energy and to shield the building from solar radiation. It is particularly suitable for hot climate regions near the Equator due to the constant high dense solar radiation throughout the year. The energy saving performance of the water façade in terms of harnessing the solar thermal energy and reducing space cooling load was evaluated by conducting temperature monitoring tests. As for its potential as a protective layer against blast loading, the water façade was tested under simulated blast loading through dropping projectile on an inflated high pressure airbag. The addition of water was shown to reduce the displacement of water façade and improve the blast resistant capacity through comparing the maximum displacements of the water façades with and without infilled water. An analytical model incorporating varying dynamic increase factor and coupled deflection mode shapes was developed to predict the displacement response of water façade under blast loading and the analytical predictions on maximum displacement were conservative as compared to those from finite element analyses.

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