Technical Note No 57

Cladding movement

This Technical Note is one of a series of three describing the design and assessment of
supporting structures and cladding systems to ensure that building envelopes are
serviceable throughout their design life. The series comprises:

TN 55 Movement accommodation in building envelopes

TN 56 Accommodation of structural movement
TN 57 Cladding movement

This Technical Note should also be read in conjunction with:

TN 21 Tolerance, fit and appearance of cladding

Introduction
Temperature and moisture change are
This Technical Note describes the causes greatest for external components of the
of movement of cladding components and building envelope but may also affect
the likely magnitude of any movements. internal components.

It also describes mechanisms for Uniform changes in temperature or

accommodating movement of cladding moisture will cause the component to
components. expand or contract uniformly. However,
temperature and moisture changes often
vary through the thickness of a component
Component movement and over the surface of a component as a
result of shading or protection from
Components may move as a result of: weather.

• Applied load Non-uniform changes lead to differential

• Temperature expansion that causes changes of shape
• Moisture (bowing, dishing and warping), or complex
internal stress fields.
Applied loads cause deflections of infill
panels and framing members. Movement Differential movement of adjacent
may lead to unintended contact of components may impair joint performance.
components causing direct damage or
different load paths and stresses. Temperatures and moisture movements
Differential movement of adjacent commonly experienced in the UK are
components may lead to joint failure given in BRE Digests 228 and 229.
through tension, compression or shear on
a sealant or gasket joint or reduction in
width of an open joint. Movement under load

Limits to the deflection of components due Framing members will deflect in plane
to load are given in CWCT ‘Standard for when subjected to self-weight loads of the
systemised building envelopes’. frame and panels supported on them.
Framing members will move out-of-plane
© CWCT 2007 July 2007

This document has been printed from the CWCT ‘Cladding Forum’, access to which is restricted to subscribing Members of the
Centre for Window & Cladding Technology. Information about the availability of CWCT publications and membership is
available at our website – www.cwct.co.uk - or from the address at the end of this note.
Cladding movement TN 57

under the effect of windload or gravity if Material α (oC-1)

they are in a roofing system.
Glass 0.000008
Out-of-plane movement is limited for Aluminium 0.000024
reasons of appearance and serviceability Steel 0.000012
as described in CWCT Standard for
systemised building envelopes. However, PVC-U 0.000080
additional care is required to ensure that
framing members do not deflect so far that Table 1 Thermal coefficients of
they bear on any internal components that expansion (α).
may be damaged, or that may damage the
framing members.
Example 2:
In-plane movement can lead to contact
between the framing members and the A brown PVC-U window frame profile
glass, disruption of joints and loss of edge 1500 mm long is cooled from 20 oC to -10
o
cover. In particular the deflection of C. The change in length is:
transoms should be limited so that they do
not bear on the top of the glass or infill 0.000080 x –30 x 1500 = -3.6 mm
panel beneath them.
If this is prevented by wrongly packed
glass then the stress in the frame may
Thermal movement cause fracture of the welded corner joints.

Unrestrained movement due to Bowing of unrestrained components

temperature is proportional to temperature occurs if one side of a framing member is
change and for uniform temperature heated or cooled relative to the other,
change the change in dimension is given Figure 1.
by:

δ = α ∆t L
Where:

δ = Change of dimension
Figure 1 Temperature induced curvature
α = Thermal coefficient of expansion
∆t = Temperature change There will also be an overall expansion or
L = Original length contraction associated with any change in
average temperature.
Example 1: If there is no change in average
temperature the extreme faces of the
An aluminium cover cap on a curtain wall member will undergo equal and opposite
mullion is 3000 mm long and its strain:
temperature changes from 5oC to 65oC the
change in length is:
ε = ± α ∆t
t

0.000024 x 60 x 3000 = 4.32 mm

and, for a symmetrical member, the
If this movement is restricted then the member will displace to a curve of
cover cap may buckle and become constant radius:
unclipped from the mullion.
y
r=
ε t

2/6
Cladding movement TN 57

Where y is the depth to the extreme face. stress will occur in the component. This
will have magnitude:
Example 3:
σ = α ∆t E
A hollow aluminium box section of depth
100mm and length 3000mm undergoes a Where:
temperature change such that the outer
face increases in temperature by 40oC σ = stress
and the inner face increases in E = elastic modulus
temperature by 20oC. The mean
temperature increase is 30oC and the
temperature difference of each face Example 4:
relative to the mean is ±10oC.
In the case of the brown PVC-u window
The section takes a curvature of radius: frame profile of example 2, 1500 mm long
and cooled from 20 oC to -10 oC. The
y 50 change in length would be:
r= = = 208 m
α∆t 0.000024 × 10 0.000080 x –30 x 1500 = -3.6 mm
This is equivalent to a mid-length lateral
and if this is prevented then the stress in
displacement of: 7.2 mm.
the frame will be:
Additionally the section will increase in
0.000080 x –30 x 4000 = -9.6 N/mm2
length by:
This may cause fracture of the welded
δ = α ∆t L = 0.000024 x 30 x 3000
corner joints if they are restrained by
incorrect packing of the glass or wrongly
δ = 2.2 mm positioned fixings.
Dishing occurs if opposite surfaces of an If a framing member is restrained from
unrestrained panel undergo different bowing or a panel is restrained from
temperature change. The surfaces will dishing then complex internal stress fields
expand or contract equally in all directions occur.
resulting in dishing of the panel as the
warmer side becomes convex and it In insulated panels and thermally broken
adopts a spherical shape. metal profiles the outer and inner
components are highly conductive
compared to the insulator and each
attains a uniform temperature equal to the
surface temperature, Figure 3.

Figure 2 Dished panel

Restrained thermal movement

Figure 3 Thermal gradient through a
If a component subject to uniform thermally broken profile
temperature change is unable to expand
or contract then a compressive or tensile

3/6
Cladding movement TN 57

The corresponding expansion or Effect of movement on joints

contraction causes shear stresses in the
insulating material and between the metal Joint widths are generally small in
and insulating elements of the component. comparison with the dimensions of panels.
These stresses, which can cause Small strains in panels can therefore give
delamination, are greatest at the edge or rise to movements that cause large strains
end of the component, Figure 4. in joints.

Curtain wall profiles that are thermally Example 5:

broken using rolled in thermal breaks are
tested for shear capacity for this reason, A series of aluminium panels each 1200
BS EN 14024. mm are separated by 10 mm wide joints.
If the panels experience a 30oC reduction
in temperature they will each shorten by:

δ = α ∆t L = 0.86 mm
This represents an 8.6 per cent expansion
of the joint. Guidance on the design of
sealant joints to accommodate movement
is given in TN 20 Design of sealant joints.
Figure 4 Shearing of a thermally broken
profile
Movement accommodation
Heating or cooling that differs over the
surface of a panel will cause it to expand Movement may be accommodated by:
and contract differentially. This is the
cause of thermal cracking in annealed • Providing movement joints in curtain
glass. Fracture occurs because the wall mullions.
warmer glass at the centre of the pane • Using sliding connections such as
expands pushing the perimeter in to elongated holes.
tension. • Using fixings that are flexible in some
directions.
• Allowing out-of-plane rotation at the
Restrained moisture movement corners of plates.
• Designing and constructing joints to
Restrained expansion or contraction allow the movement.
induced by moisture will lead to stresses • Not using too many fixings for panels.
within a component:
Failure to accommodate movement will
σ = Eε give rise to stresses in components. For
flexible sheets expansion may cause
Where: temporary rippling of the sheet rather than
large compressive stresses. However,
% movement restrained contraction can only give rise to
ε=
100 tensile stresses. Note that these will occur
within sealed joints as well as within the
If a framing member is restrained from panels.
bowing or a panel is restrained from
dishing then complex internal stress fields At low temperatures polymeric seals tend
occur. to become stiffer. This reduces the
movement accommodation factor of the
sealant and induces higher stresses in the
sealant and the substrate.

4/6
Cladding movement TN 57

Rainscreen walls it will tend to be in phase with movement

Typically a rainscreen wall will have of the cladding and hence reduce the
rainscreen panels which are exposed to need for movement accommodation.
the greatest temperature and moisture
movements. For thin metal panels there Movement of the cover caps and pressure
will be no significant temperature gradient plates can be accommodated by leaving
through the panel and design of the fixings movement joints between sections.
should allow for overall expansion and
contraction. With thicker panels of A small amount of movement in the
material with lower thermal conductivity, mullion boxes can be accommodated at
such as stone, it is necessary to consider splice joints. Expansion and contraction of
bending due to temperature and moisture transoms can be accommodated in
gradients as well as overall movement. various ways including use of split
mullions to create movement joints,
The rainscreen panels will typically be bellows action of the mullion boxes and
supported by rails spanning between joints between mullions and transoms that
floors. The rails will also undergo some allow slight movement. However in many
thermal movement but the temperature cases no specific allowance for movement
range will be less than for the panels as is made. Use of longer glazing bays with
they will be sheltered from direct solar fewer joints provides less scope for
radiation. Fixing of the rails will need to movement due to ‘slack’. Use of
allow for this movement. If movement movement joints either at the end of a run
joints are provided between sections of of curtain walling or at split mullions
rail, the effect on the panels needs to be requires the brackets to allow movement
considered – if joints do not coincide with of the mullions. CWCT TN 55 and CWCT
joints between panels the panel fixings TN 56 give further advice on the
need to allow for the additional movement. movement of stick curtain walls.

There will be some thermal movement of Unitised curtain walls

the background structure but this may be Unitised walls will experience the same
negligible for an occupied building. For an movements as stick curtain walls but as
unoccupied building it can be ignored as it the mullions and transoms are split they
will tend to be in phase with movement of can accommodate movement along the
the cladding and hence reduce the need length and height of the wall. CWCT
for movement accommodation. TN 55 and CWCT TN 56 give further
advice on the movement of unitised
Stick curtain walls curtain walls.
Cover caps will be exposed to the external
environment and thus will be subject to
greatest thermal movements. The main
box section of the framing members will
be insulated from the external temperature
variations by the thermal break but in References
glazed areas will be subject to solar
radiation through the glass. They will BRE Digest 228
therefore experience greater temperature Estimation of thermal and moisture
variations than the building frame but movements and stresses: Part 2.
smaller temperature variations than the
BRE Digest 229
cover caps. Estimation of thermal and moisture
movements and stresses: Part 3.
As with rainscreen walls, there will be
some thermal movement of the BS EN 14024
background structure but this may be Metal profiles with thermal barrier –
negligible for an occupied building. For Mechanical performance - Requirements,
unoccupied buildings it can be ignored as proof and tests for assessment

5/6
Cladding movement TN 57

CWCT
Standard for systemised building envelopes, ISBN 1
874003 20 3, CWCT 2006.

CWCT
TN 21 Tolerance, fit and appearance of
cladding, CWCT 1999.

CWCT
TN 55 Movement accommodation in building
envelopes, CWCT 2007.

CWCT
TN 56 Accommodation of structural
movement, CWCT 2007.

© CWCT 2006
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2
7AY
Tel: 01225 386541; Fax: 01225 386556
Email: [email protected];
www.cwct.co.uk

6/6