Besides offering Façade Consulting, Curtain Wall Testing, and Fire Compliance, we conduct various other project related testing services.
Other Test Services
At TBW, our expert engineers and technicians perform a wide range of testing, inspection, and compliance procedures, including the following:
Impact Testing
The testing of safety glass is now a part of the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code. We are accredited to test standards ASTM E2353, ASTM E935, BS EN 14428, ANSI Z97.1 and CPSC 16 CFR 1201.4.
We are also accredited for impact testing on Curtain Walls and other glazed elements.
Some of these, as well as load tests, have been conducted under conditions of elevated temperature as Ad Hoc tests (where the test does not exactly follow a standard).
Glass Testing
This test refers to the measurement of surface stresses in glass to determine whether it meets the criteria for heat strengthened (HS) or fully tempered (FT). The test is conducted using the GASP (Grazing Angle Surface Polarimeter).
This is an important measurement as it involves safety glass to make sure the glass has the right properties for the application. Tests for light and energy transmittance and reflection are conducted in cooperation with an associate lab.
Ad Hoc Testing
This applies to tests that either do not follow a standard, or follow some deviation to an existing standard. They are frequently set up to investigate the response of systems where no standards exist. For example, on the Burj Khalifa, it was observed that the male half of the mullion which had a deep ‘n’ must be much stiffer than the other half – however, would this mean that a disproportionate amount of the load was transferred through its bracket?
Other tests TBW have carried out include observing the effect of a load on the laminated glass when it is heated, the effect of windblown sand on glass with an anti-reactive coating, and the effect of heating and cooling on coloured laminated glass.
Some of these tests can be massive in size, for example, recently we have conducted the largest Thermal Cycling Test in the world for the Red Sea Sheybara Resort.
Acoustic Testing
These tests are conducted on curtain wall mock-ups and were pioneered by TBW. The mock-up testing seems like an obvious opportunity to check this important quality, but as far as we are aware it had not been done before. It does require some small modifications to the chamber because it has to have adequate volume, so is necessarily deeper, but also the construction of the chamber has to have better acoustic performance than the sample we are testing – to eliminate “flanking sound”.
We believe that the test we do on full-size specimens using the site testing standards is more representative than the test done on a small sample in an acoustic laboratory because it represents real conditions. We work with an associate acoustic engineer and can also offer laboratory acoustic testing.
Why Choose TBW For Façade Testing Services?
Our expert engineers and technicians at TBW can assist you with innovative testing and investigation services from the outset of your project design right through to the construction stage.
We have the resources and continuous improvement processes in place which allow us to carry out a range of comprehensive testing services and create new and innovative ways of testing materials and elements.