Hurricane protection
Hurricanes in the near past have shown that Germany will not be spared from such natural events in the future. Accordingly, there are also requirements for windows and exterior doors.
Test
In the absence of national standards, the American standard is used for verification:
- ASTM InternationalDestination E 1996-05 „ Standard Specification for Performance of Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, Doors and Impact Protective Systems Impacted by Windborne Debris in Hurricanes“
- ASTM InternationalDestination E 1886-05 „ Standard Test Method for Performance of Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, Doors and Impact Protective Systems Impacted by Missile(s) and Exposed to Cyclic Pressure Differentials“
- “TESTING APPLICATION STANDARD (TAS) 201-94 IMPACT TEST PROCEDURES”
- “TESTING APPLICATION STANDARD (TAS) 203-94 CRITERIA FOR TESTING PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO CYCLIC WIND PRESSURE LOADING”
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A verification of air permeability and resistance against driving rain as well as resistance to wind load for these windows, façades and external door systems as described in “TESTING APPLICATION STANDARD (TAS) 202-94 CRITERIA FOR TESTING IMPACT & NON IMPACT RESISTANT BUILDING ENVELOPE COMPONENTS USING UNIFORM STATIC AIR PRESSURE” essentially corresponds to the aforementioned European testing standards for air permeability, resistance against driving rain and resistance to wind load.
The actual test consists of two parts.
- Testing of the air resistance to a small (small missile test) or a large impact body (large missile test).
- Cyclic pulsating pressure loads in the direction of pressure and suction.
Resistance to small missiles (small missile test)
The test is only carried out in impact body class A.
For this purpose, 10 steel balls with a mass of 2 g are fired at a speed of approx. 40 m/s at each test sample. (different impact points, impact energy approx. 1,6 J)
Resistance to large missiles (large missile test)
The test is carried out in the impact body classes B to E.
For this purpose, a wodden beam with a face of 50 x 100 mm is “shot” once (twice for impactor class E) at a different impact point on each test specimen with a class-dependent mass and speed.
| Impact body | |||||
| class | weight | length | speed | energy | impacts |
| B | 910 g | ca. 0,52 m | 15 m/s | 107 J | 1 x |
| C | 2050 g | ca. 1,20 m | 12 m/s | 151 J | 1 x |
| D | 4100 g | ca. 2,40 m | 15 m/s | 483 J | 1 x |
| E | 4100 g | ca. 2,40 m | 24 m/s | 1207 J | 2 x |
Table 33: requirements on impact bodies in relation to classes
In the test from impactor class B onwards, the test for impactor class A is considered to be fulfilled if the protective systems to not consist of protective grids in front.
Resistance to cyclic wind loads
For this purpoose, the test samples tested according to one of the impactor classes are subjected to a series of pressure cycles. The pressures are dependent on the assignable maximum pressure pmax of the respective wind zone.
| cycle | Direction of load | pressure area | number of cycles |
| 1 | Druck | 0,2 bis 0,5 pmax | 3500 |
| 2 | Druck | 0 bis 0,6 pmax | 300 |
| 3 | Druck | 0,5 bis 0,8 pmax | 600 |
| 4 | Druck | 0,3 bis 1,0 pmax | 100 |
| 5 | Sog | 0,3 bis 1,0 pmax | 50 |
| 6 | Sog | 0,5 bis 0,8 pmax | 1050 |
| 7 | Sog | 0 bis 0,6 pmax | 50 |
| 8 | Sog | 0,2 bis 0,5 pmax | 3350 |
Minimum requirements in Germany:
| Requirements according to | Class / limit values |
| no requirements |
