Lightweight facade: a new test protocol by Louineau

Louineau, designer and manufacturer of construction site-specific implementation solutions, continues its approach of providing solutions to carpentry professionals.
A long-standing player in the sector of fixing joinery and light facades, the Louineau company's design office has just developed a new test protocol for professionals in light facades: the "Test protocol for justifying curtain wall fasteners", a tool to help with implementation and support for market players.  
   
Real tests for a qualified technical document
Le “Test protocol for the justification of curtain wall fasteners” presents a method dedicated to the justification of the characteristic resistances of a curtain wall attachment piece to the actions of weight, wind and earthquake. Ni Wang, head of R&D, explains having “carried out real tests on a test bench per part according to the assembly diagrams in accordance with their implementation on site”.
Progressive tensile, compressive and deformation forces were applied to each part, depending on the type of test - weight, wind, earthquake - in order to study their behavior under load and measure their mechanical resistance. The measurement data, used on the basis of Eurocode 0, define the technical information of the test report for the parts in the Louineau range and their application.

An innovative design office and market player
Ni Wang, R&D Manager, and Guillaume Dufaix, Head of the Design Office, developed this test protocol with their team (10 employees).
The design office, integrated into the Louineau company, develops new solutions to meet its customers' needs. It is responsible for technical advice, design, costing, and manufacturing launch. Thanks to its knowledge of current standards and installation methods, the design office advises its customers to offer them the optimal solution to their problem. It has a service for sizing fasteners according to the project environment to justify it with a test report.

A reference system for professionals
This reference document is a tool to assist professionals in their implementation and support, guiding them in choosing the most suitable solution for their construction projects. This tool has a second function: it reports on the mechanical strength of the anchoring parts in the Louineau range, information required by inspection offices.
This test protocol is a new device intended for those involved in lightweight facades, "its use not being obligatory", says Guillaume Dufaix, head of the Design Office. Since its launch on the market at the beginning of the year, customers have adopted it "for its ease of use in a reassuring approach to better understand anchor parts in their responses to calls for tender".

A collaborative action for the entire profession
Louineau, a member of the SNFA, has undertaken a collective approach by involving industry stakeholders—facade specialists, scale installers, and inspection agencies—in the development of this test protocol. The result of two years of work conducted internally and then in close collaboration with the SNFA, this method draws on the complementary expertise of stakeholders, giving it a professional character.
Facade builders, gammists and control offices, everyone finds an advantage in this tool:
• Benefit from simplified access to the validation of the mechanical characteristics of anchoring parts to avoid disputes due to under-sizing of parts,
• Consider the most suitable solution for the site,
• Provide validation across the entire project and support clients in implementation,
• Require a calculation of the anchor parts.

Louineau "solutions provider"
The development of this “Test protocol for the justification of curtain wall fasteners” strengthens Louineau's position as a market leader and provider of service offerings. This collective approach has enabled the company to better understand the players in its market in order to respond to their needs and problems; “Some facade specialists do not have calculation software or an internal sizing service.”, specifies Guillaume Dufaix.
Regulations governing the lightweight or curtain wall industry are evolving. Louineau provides its own technical reference framework, in addition to the Eurocodes and DTU 33.1 relating to the implementation of facade components. Today, the company leverages its know-how and technical expertise to support its clients and enhance their daily work.