AAMA updates design guide for metal cladding fasteners. Photo courtesy of Tubelite Inc. and Wigen Tincknell Meyer & Associates Schaumburg, Illinois -- The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) recently updated a Technical Information Report (TIR) providing metal curtain wall designers with the necessary data to select fasteners for curtain wall framing members and components. AAMA TIR-A9-14 also goes into the process of anchoring curtain wall systems to building structures.

“The updated AAMA TIR A9-14, ‘Design Guide for Metal Cladding Fasteners’ will be even more technically significant to the metal fenestration industry than the original widely used AAMA TIR A9-91, ‘Metal Curtain Wall Fasteners,’” says Tanya Dolby (Kawneer), chair of AAMA’s Curtain Wall Fastener TIR Task Group. “The 2014 release contains new and updated sections that reflect testing and research that occurred over the last 23 years.”

Hydrogen embrittlement is now addressed in the Protection against Corrosion section of the document. Additionally, the new Safety Factors section provides a thorough explanation of how safety factors were derived for the range of fastener diameters.

“The intent is to provide safety factors which are conservative, consistent and simplified throughout the document,” Dolby says. “Updated and expanded information in the Pull-out Strength section includes equations for thick, thin and transition regions, as well as thread stripping of internal and external threads. Also, pull-out strength tables were incorporated from the 2000 addendum.”

Section 20 Fastener Load Tables required the most “behind the scenes” work, says Dolby. These tables were re-worked, re-organized and constructed into Excel spreadsheets with incorporated equations and properties. Every value in the tables links back to several interacting equations.

“I anticipate AAMA TIR A9-14 will continue to be widely used and referenced throughout the curtain wall and cladding industry,” Dolby says.

TIR-A9-14 may be purchased from AAMA’s Publication store.

More information about AAMA and its activities can be found via the AAMA Media Relations page or on the AAMA website, www.aamanet.org.