Unicel Architectural Corp. has announced that several of its louvered glazing and curtainwall systems recently passed a series of Florida performance tests. Its certified aluminum curtainwall system can now feature insulating glass units (IGU) with Vision Control, IGUs with Vision Control Mini, IGUs with ViuLite and IGUs without integrated shading.
Officials state that these products are now certified under Florida Building Product Approval number FL 41609, making them officially compliant with the structural requirements of the current Florida building code, including within the region’s high-velocity hurricane zone.
“We’ve seen countless examples of how hurricane-strength winds, debris, heavy rain and flooding can devastate communities and the built environment,” says Unicel’s co-president Samuel Doyon-Bissonnette. “But the good news is that building owners can take measures to mitigate the damage of such ferocious storms through improved building integrity and hurricane-certified glazing.”
The tests conducted include:
- Testing Application Standard (TAS) 201-94 – Impact Test Procedures (Large Missile);
- Testing Application Standard (TAS) 202-94 – Criteria for Testing Impact and Non-Impact Resistant Building Envelope Components Using Uniform Static Air Pressure;
- Testing Application Standard (TAS) 203-94 – Criteria for Testing Products Subject to Cyclic Wind Pressure Loading;
- ASTM E1886-13 – Performance of Exterior Windows, Curtainwalls, Doors and Impact Protective Systems Impacted by Missile(s) and Exposed to Cyclic Pressure Differentials; and
- ASTM E1996-17 – Performance of Exterior Windows, Curtainwalls, Doors and Impact Protective Systems Impacted by Windborne Debris in Hurricanes.
