Best Practice: Structural Engineering for Composite Substructure Materials — Composite Metal Hybrid (CMH) vs Generic FRP for Cladding Support of Exterior Walls
The state of the art for exterior cladding attachment has improved for the last several years. High performance composite metal hybrids (CMH) and, more recently, generic fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) Z sections are available as thermally efficient continuous insulation system components. The purpose of this study is to review the structural performance of these products relative to (1) best practice procedures for structural analysis and (2) standard wall loading conditions.
In the drive for thermally efficient continuous insulation systems, it is critical to maintain or improve the engineering, structural and durability characteristics of the thermally efficient product. As is shown in the data contained in this paper, that is not always the case.
This paper explores accurate FEA simulations, structural analysis, and durability of both CMH and FRP materials to compare the structural integrity of z shaped girts of equivalent depth.
