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- Lightweight aluminium drained & back ventilated rainscreen facades with Metawall®
- Sustainability of the facade cladding
- Product variations of Metawall®
- Advantages
- Easy and quick assembly
- Lightweight and large panels
- Positive drainage
- Versatile design options
- References
- Certificates and approvals
- Drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades
Lightweight aluminium drained & back ventilated rainscreen facades with Metawall®
The product variation of Metawell® especially for facade cladding is called Metawall®. Because of the ingeniously simple design, a very light and extremely rigid aluminium sandwich panel is created, which is perfectly suitable for curtain wall facades. Metawall® products are pure aluminium panels systematically stiffened with an aluminium corrugated core between the two cover sheets.
The continuous manufacturing process allows the production of exceptionally large facade elements with a flat surface that remain dimensionally stable and flat even when used over large areas.
Because the panels remain flat and level, larger support spans are possible for large-scale façade elements, i.e. less substructure is required and the façade cladding is therefore more economical. Since the sandwich core is also protected against corrosion, the material has a high resistance to corrosion and is 100 % recyclable without previous material separation.
Sustainability of the facade cladding
Aluminium and sustainability – the material is often criticised due to the mining of bauxite and the high energy requirements in the production of primary aluminium. What often remains unconsidered in this discussion, however, are the advantages that arise from the use of aluminium:
- Unlimited recyclability and the resulting increase in the amount of secondary aluminium in circulation.
- Multifunctional and durable material whose properties in construction and transport, plant and mechanical engineering and many other areas enable applications to be realised that save energy permanently and efficiently.
- the energy used in the primary production of aluminium is not lost, because it is stored in the products and “reactivated” during recycling. The energy use of recycling is up to 95 % lower as compared to the primary aluminium production.
Sustainability at Metawell GmbH
The environmental management system is certiled according to DIN EN ISO 14001 and is constantly monitored using key lgures such as energy use, emissions and the scrap quota. We have already been environmentally certified since 2008. No toxic substances are released through the manufacture of the products, either during or after production. It even goes one step further by using the heat generated during production to heat the administration building.
Our products are made of two aluminium cover sheets and one aluminium corrugated core. All three sheets are bonded together by adhesive. During recycling, the aluminium can be remelted. In this process, the adhesive burns, but the energy released in the process is added to the aluminium melting process via heat.
Therefore, the end-of-life recycling split for our products is as follows: 86% of Metawall® A2 facade cassettes can be recycled as materials and 14% can be recycled as energy. In the case of Metawall ® B1 facade cassettes, as much as 88% can be sent for material recycling and 12% for energy recovery.
Green building in facades
Green building Green building focuses to build from a sustainable point of view. The raw materials energy and materials are used as efficiently as possible, while at the same time the negative impact on people and the environment is reduced. The production of the building is considered, as well as the period of use and the environmentally friendly disposal of the materials after use. In order to make all this measurable and comparable, institutions have been established in many countries that carry out the assessment according to various evaluation standards. In Germany, assessment according to DGNB predominates, while in North and South America, as well as India and the UAE, assessment according to LEED is used. In Great Britain by BREEAM and in France by HQE. The DGNB considers the following assessment criteria: ecological quality, economic quality, sociocultural and functional quality, technical quality, process quality and site quality. In the individual criteria, evaluation points are awarded for the achievement of targets. For each of these criteria, points are awarded and weighted to reach a designated level of certification: bronze, silver, gold or platinum. As a member of the DGNB, we are pleased to be able to make our contribution to a more environmentally friendly future. Under the LEED protocols, the classification are certified, silver, gold or platinum. Eight characteristics are scored and weighted to achieve the certification level. A life cycle assessment of the individual product, the socalled environmental product declaration (EPD), is used as the basis for the certifications.
Environmental product declarations in accordance with DIN EN ISO 14025 Type III and EN 15804 are available for the Metawall® facade products.
In order to make sustainable construction practically applicable, measurable and comparable DGNB has developed a certification system based on:
- Life cycle assessment
- Holistic approach
- Performance orientation
With a share of over 80% in new construction and over 60% in the overall commercial real estate market, the DGNB is the market leader among certification system provider in Germany (as of December 31, 2021).
Metawall® products make a notable contribution in archieving the svore required for certification because they stand for sustainability as a fully recyclable product. We can support our customers in the DGNB certification process with our current EPDs of Metawall® A2 and Metawall® B1. These can be found on the IBU-website (Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.). In order to be able to certify the building according to LEED, our EPDs at IBU can be used in the European area. For LEED certification in the USA, we have an EPD for the Metawall® A2 according to the standards applicable there.
Product variations of Metawall®
The product variation of Metawell® especially for facade cladding is called Metawall®. Depending on the static and fire protection requirements, two products are available for the facade cladding
| Metawall® B1 | Metawall® A2 |
|---|---|
| Thickness: 10 mm | Thickness: 15 mm |
| Weight: 5.2 kg/m² | Weight: 6.8 kg/m² |
Fire resistance:
|
Fire resistance:
|
| maximum dimension: 1570 x 6000 mm* |
maximum dimension: 1560 x 6000 mm* |
* larger length on request
Advantages
Easy and quick assembly
Our Metawell® products can be processed easily and quickly with standard tools. The low weight also has a positive effect on the assembly speed and the personnel required for installation, even with large panels. The following videos give a good insight.
Video: CNC Machining and Edging of Metawall®
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Video: Easy processing with Alu Bender
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Video: Installation of Metawall®
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Lightweight and large panels
A panel with the dimensions 1560 mm x 6000 mm weighs approx. 64 kg and Metawall® B1 in this size only approx. 49 kg in total. The low weight, even with large panels, has positive effects on the required building dimension (e.g. material savings in concrete for the structural system), the design of the necessary substructure, the speed of installation and the personnel required for the installation of the substructure and the panels. When viewed wholistically, the reduced dead loads and high strength and flatness will create a more economical facade design when considering supports and installation costs.
Metawall® products are pure aluminium plates systematically stiffened with an aluminium corrugated core between the two cover sheets. To obtain the same stiffness values with solid steel sheet, 4.7 mm thick or 6.8 mm thick solid aluminuim sheet is required. If we look at the weights of these different materials in the thicknesses required to achieve the same stiffness properties, it becomes clear that both our Metawall® A2 with 6.8 kg/m² and Metawall® B1 with 5.2 kg/m² are true lightweights.
The comparison is based on the values of the bending stiffness in the transverse direction. In the longitudinal direction, our bending stiffness is higher.
Video about special tests for different façade fastening systems
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The high rigidity of our facade products has positive effects on the dimensional design of the substructure. This leads primarily to a great potential to generate material savings. Even with very large panels, no reinforcements are required on the back. This is where the advantages of our products come into their full play.
Connection:
36 brackets – 2 rows á 18 pieces
Fixed-point brackets with 3 scews
Sliding-point brackets with 2 screws
Load until total failure:
Area panel: 1,56m * 6,0m = 9.36 m²
Total load: 94.7 kN = 9.66 to *
Connection:
54 brackets – 3 rows á 18 pieces
Fixed-point brackets with 3 scews
Sliding-point brackets with 2 screws
Load until total failure:
Area panel: 1,56m * 6,0m = 9.36 m²
Total load: 141.85 kN = 14.47 to *
* This total load to total failure must not be used for design without safety factors. The country-specific safeties against failure must be taken into account.
Positive drainage
Positive drainage is guaranteed in any panel orientation. Moist air carrying water vapor can penetrate the facade and condense inside the cavity. in order to avoid humidity damage and corrosion risks. With Metawell panels the condensate can be drained using the unique corrugations as drainage channels. Of course, during installation it is important to make sure that the vertically installed panels are mounted correctly. This is ensured by the arrow on our protective film, which must always point upwards!
Positive drainage is guaranteed in any arrangement and water can escape completely from the facade cassette via the ventilation gap on the back.
We have a permanently safe and long-lasting system.
The higher the temperature, the greater the water vapor content of the air. At lower temperatures, the air can hold less water vapor. Whenever there are changes in temperature, condensation can also occur, depending on the relative humidity. So as soon as air finds its way into the facade panel, water will automatically also be in the facade panel. Therefore, it could be concluded that sealing the facade cassette solves the problem. However, in the case of panels with air chambers, this leads to different pressure ratios of the air inside the facade cassette and its surrounding air when the temperature changes. As a result, the bonded joint is constantly stressed and this can lead to failure of the bond sooner or later.
By selecting Metawall® panels, these risks are all mitigated because of positive drainage and rear ventilation.
Versatile design options
With our products, three dimensional shapes are easily achieved to give the building a very special appearance. You can find more information on design options in our <a href=”https://www.metawell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Facades_Fassaden.pdf”>brochure</a>.
References
You can find more information about references and durable façades, which were already realised 23 years ago, in our brochure.
Certificates and approvals
- Fire resistance acc. EN 13501-1: B – s2, d0 or A2 – s1, d0 (DIBt Deutschland)
- Fire resistance acc. NFPA 285 and ASTM E84 (Intertek)
- General building authority approval Z-10.3-708 (DIBt Germany)
- EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations) acc. to DIN EN ISO 14025 Type III and EN 15804
Drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades
Drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades can be realized with Metawall® aluminium sandwich panels. In construction the term drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades describes a sophisticated technique to give facades an appearance that is characterized by individuality, high quality and longevity.
Advantages:
Drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades are constructed as follows. Drained and back ventilated rainscreen facades are built up as followed. First, the substructure is fastened to the backup wall; it serves as a static connection between the outer wall and the facade cladding. The insulation is inserted between the substructures. In the next step, the facade panels are attached to the substructure.
Note
Please take into account the information given in the facade folder.
Products of Metawell GmbH are technically unsuitable for the following applications:
– wall and roof elements which require an integrated thermal insulation – PU foam core
– roof elements as supporting components
– balcony and parapet fall protections
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