E3S Web of Conferences 372, 02014 (2023) https://doi.org/10.

1051/e3sconf/202337202014
ICUEMS2023

Construction technology on dismantlement and reconstruction of

point supported glass curtain wall for airport terminal building
Jian Li1a, Jian Hong 1b, Shiyao Liu 1c, Yuzai Zhou 1d, Guangbo Wang1e, Chengxiang Xu2*
1The first construction engineering limited company of China construction third engineering bureau, Wuhan 430040, China
2School of Urban Construction, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China

ABSTRACT: Based on the corridor channel curtain wall reconstruction project at Wuhan Tianhe airport T2-
T3 terminal building, the structural system of point supported glass curtain wall with cable structure 18 years
ago was analyzed, the technical difficulties of curtain wall glass panel removal and bearing cable removal
were studied, and technical measures for the dismantlement and reconstruction of point supported glass
curtain wall with cable structure were reasonably proposed. During the construction process of the
dismantlement and reconstruction, the curtain wall structure was dynamically monitored, the deformation of
the monitoring points were small, and the construction process was in a safe state. Due to the success in the
dismantlement and reconstruction control technology of the point supported glass curtain wall with cable
structure in this project, it not only ensured the construction safety, but also improved the construction quality,
which could provide a reference for other similar projects.

tension of curtain wall based on a specific construction

1. INTRODUCTION project. In the aspect of curtain wall structure glass
dismantlement, scholars have proposed the partial
With the vigorous implementation of the urban renewal dismantlement method [9,10], and the rapid
plan, it is necessary to renovate the old buildings. In this dismantlement method [11]. These technologies provide
process, the airport terminal buildings that did not adapt great convenience for curtain wall construction.
to the development of modern technology and industry According to the characteristics of the structural
have been overhauled, repaired and transformed. It can system of the point supported glass curtain wall with cable
effectively increase the passenger capacity of the airport structure, this paper takes the curtain wall reconstruction
and avoid the high cost of building a new airport. [1] project of the Wuhan Tianhe Airport T2-T3 Terminal
Airport terminals mostly use cable points to support glass building as the research object, focussing on the technical
curtain walls. This kind of structural system has the difficulties in the removal of the glass panel of the curtain
advantages of no frame, no support of large scale steel wall and the removal of the load-bearing cable, and puts
structure, light in weight, and transparent and wide vision. forward reasonable technical measures for the removal
Moreover, it is suitable for carrying large spans and large and reconstruction of the point supported glass curtain
height external curtain walls. [2,3] wall with cable structure. In the process of dismantlement
The cable structure point supported glass curtain wall and reconstruction, the dynamic monitoring of the curtain
structure is complex, and the construction is difficult. wall structure was carried out to ensure the safety of
Thus, safe and rapid construction is particularly important. dismantlement and reconstruction, which could provide a
Wang et al. [4]presented the construction technology of reference for other similar projects.
the combined point-supporting glass curtain wall with
high cable net. It enabled the accurate installation of large
cable-point curtain walls in complex structural systems. 2. ENGINEERING SITUATION
Yang [5] studied the construction technology of large span
arc cable glass curtain wall. This technology ensured the Wuhan Tianhe airport T2 terminal reconstruction project
quality of glass curtain wall installation. Duan et al. [6] covered a total construction area of 158400 square meters,
studied the key construction technology of rhombic-arc- which is composed of terminal hall, A corridor, B corridor,
point-styled glass curtain wall. Zhang et al. [7] proposed and connecting corridor. The main building of the terminal
cable tension technology to avoid the intersection of is a frame structure. The roof of the hall is a triangular
prestressed construction and glass installation. Wang et al. space truss structure. The roof of the corridor is a portal
[8] studied the technical points of prestressed cable steel frame structure. In addition, the roof of the corridor
a
360805754@qq.com, b570142251@qq.com
c313725084@qq.com, d755050543@qq.com

e814684555@qq.com , *cx_xu@sina.com

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 372, 02014 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202337202014
ICUEMS2023

is a space truss structure. At present, because a new was about 375.92 square meters. The curtain wall was
corridor was built in T3 terminal to connect with T2 divided into upper and lower layers. The second layer
terminal, it is necessary to transform the curtain wall at elevation of 7.5 m. The glass was 12（low-E）+12A+12
T2-T3 corridor to connect T2 and T3 terminal corridors double toughened hollow glass with a dimension of 3000
(as shown in Figure 1). The curtain wall is trapezoidal, the mm2000 mm. The curtain wall scene diagram is shown
bottom length was 19.0 m and the height of the left curtain in Figure 2, and the facade and profile of the curtain wall
wall was 22.877 m. The height of the right curtain wall are shown in Figure 3.
was 22.176 m and the total area of the glass curtain wall

Figure .1 T2-T3 corridor channel Figure. 2 Curtain wall scene diagram

Figure. 3 Facade and profile of the curtain wall

The curtain wall structure system was point supported through the stainless steel connector to achieve balance.
glass curtain wall. Supporting structure was steel pipe The pre-tension of the cable was 50 % of the breaking
structure, steel truss, and self-balancing cable structure force of the steel cable. The pre-tension was divided into
point support. Truss and main concrete structures were three cycles: the first cycle completed 20 % of the pre-
hinged. Point support of the self-balancing cable structure tension, the second cycle reached 80 % of the pre-tension
consisted of two transverse cables, steel pipe, and stainless and the third cycle completed the final pre-tension value.
steel connector. Point supports of self-balancing cable The size of the steel tube in the point support of the cable
structures of different floors were connected by vertical structure was 159 mm8 mm. The size of the transverse
cables and tie rods to form an overall force system. The cable was 24. The size of the glass heavy cable was 16,
self-balancing cable structure point support was and the truss gravity rod was 18. Transverse detail
connected to the steel pipe structures on both sides. The drawings of the self-balancing cable truss are shown in
glass curtain wall was fixed by the stainless steel Figure .4.
connector. The glass curtain wall weight and other loads
were transmitted to the cable structure point support

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(a) ZHJ-01

(b) ZHJ-02

(c) ZHJ-03

(d) ZHJ-04

(e) ZHJ-05

(f) ZHJ-06

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(g) ZHJ-07
Figure. 4 Transverse detail drawings of the self-balancing cable truss
glass. In the process of removing the curtain wall glass, to
3. SCHEME AND DIFFICULTIES OF ensure the overall stability of the glass curtain wall, glass
GLASS CURTAIN WALL burst and collapse are not allowed. Due to the addition of
RECONSTRUCTION the new channel, partial dismantlement and openings on
the original curtain wall are needed. The original system
will face the problems and difficulties that the original
3.1. Reconstruction scheme of curtain wall cable anchor self-balanced structure system is destroyed,
a large range of curtain walls are dismantled and
The renovation plan was to connect the corridors of
reinstalled, and the safety of the original support structure
Terminals T2-T3 and to open holes in the curtain wall. The
and the safety and reliability of the new support structure
size of the hole was 11780 mm9050 mm. After the system in the dismantlement process.
opening of the T2-T3 corridor, it was necessary to add a There are difficulties in removing load-bearing cables.
door steel structure at the entrance. Moreover, the cable Because the cable could not form a stable structure in the
needed to be replaced to connect cable to door steel relaxed state, it must be pre-tensioned to make it tense, so
structure. Glass was installed after installation of cable. that the cable can resist the normal load. Dismantlement
Facade and section of reconstructed glass curtain wall are of load-bearing cables required reverse operation of the
shown in Figure. 5. equipment to unload its prestress. Therefore, it is difficult
to confirm a practical unloading scheme in construction.
3.2. Construction difficulties of dismantlement
There are many difficulties in demolishing curtain wall

Figure. 5 Facade and section of reconstructed glass curtain wall

through the hole left by the unmounted connector and bind
3.3. Construction process together to hold the glass to prevent it from falling. Finally,
the hoisting of parts is carried out by manual hoist, while
3.3.1. Removal of curtain wall glass the handling is carried out horizontally by manual suction
cup. In the process of lifting the glass with a hoist, it
Firstly, the bolts between the lower part of the glass and should be ensured that the glass moved at a constant speed
the stainless steel connector were removed, the same to and was safely transported to the designated position. All
the connection between the upper part of the glass and the the glass was removed according to this process. The site
connector. Secondly, nylon ropes were used to pass of glass removal is shown in Figure. 6.

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Figure. 6 The site of glass removal

slightly, turned the regulating sleeve in the opposite
3.3.2 Removal of vertical cables and pull rods direction. (4) It was unloaded and operated repeatedly
until the pin shaft at the cable ear plate could be extracted.
(1) Vertical cable was unloaded. When installing, the
(5) The vertical cable prestress was cleared and the
vertical cable was prestressed. When removing, it needed
connection between the vertical cable and the ground ear
to unload prestress. A hydraulic jack was used to unload it.
plate was removed. When there was no prestress in the
(2) The force exerted by the jack was checked through the
vertical pull rod, it could be removed directly. This process
panel and this step was repeated several times. (3) After
was used to remove all vertical cables and pull rods. The
each unloading, the tensioner was tensioned to the
removal process of the vertical cable is shown in Figure.
adjusting end. When the regulating sleeve is rotated
7.

Figure. 7 Removal process of the vertical cable

reserved position of the door hole, the crossbar was
3.3.3. Removal of lateral self-balancing point support removed. The removed crossbar was carried down
with cable structure through the pulley and the manual hoist and was moved to
the designated position. The first four layers of self-
The prestress of the cables was eliminated and the
balancing cable structure point support were removed.
transverse cables were removed. The Pulley was installed
The removal process of self-balancing point support with
on the upper crossbar and the lower crossbar was fixed
cable structure is shown in Figure. 8.
with the pulley and the iron chain. According to the

Figure .8 Removal process of self-balancing point support with cable structure

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working base point could be buried by drilling. (4) After

3.3.4. Installation of the door head of steel structure the sign was buried, it should reach stability before
observation could be started.
The appropriate size of the section steel was selected. The
To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the position
relevant software was used for design and calculation to
of the working base point in the horizontal displacement
ensure the safety of curtain wall components under gravity
monitoring, the control points in the horizontal
load, wind load, earthquake action, temperature action,
displacement monitoring reference network should be
and displacement of the main structure. Due to span
buried outside the deformation zone. The observation pier
change, the original load-bearing cable and some of the tie
with a forced centering device should be constructed
rods could not be used. They all needed to be replaced and
according to the deformation measurement accuracy (an
to recalculate the cross-section size of the cable and
optical centering device with a centering error of less than
prestress value. The steel structure of the door bucket was
0.5 mm can also be used). The layout of horizontal
welded with the remaining cross bars on both the left and
displacement reference points and working reference
right sides. The re-arranged vertical cables were
points is shown in Figure. 9.
connected to the upper part of the steel structure of the
door bucket. When installing the vertical cable, the cable
was hung from the top structure to make the cable free.
After all the vertical cables were installed, the equipment
was adjusted in the sequence from top to bottom, and the
connectors were adjusted layer by layer.

3.3.5. Installation of curtain wall glass

The specifications of the original design glass remain
unchanged. The original point support system, bar joint, Figure. 9 Layout of horizontal displacement reference points
and bar claw could be retained if they could still work. and working base points
However, the remained parts needed to be retested. If
these parts were deformed or the accessories are lost or
4.2. Layout of monitoring points
worn seriously during disassembly, and the surface was
severely corroded, they should be replaced. When lifting The arrangement of monitoring points was reasonably
the glass, it should be firmly fixed with a packing belt and selected according to the needs of the project and the
vertically lifted to the installation elevation by using the actual situation of the site. The monitoring points were
lifting point at the top of the channel. After installing the arranged at the junction of each reserved connection
glass, protective tape was pasted on the glass on both sides structure to monitor the influence of the removed part on
of the glue seam to prevent sealant from polluting the glass the reserved structure. Monitoring content was divided
and affecting the visual effect. Volatile cleaner was used into anchor structure deformation monitoring and curtain
to wipe the surface dust of silicone sealant to prevent wall relative displacement monitoring. Deformation
leakage of sealant due to poor adhesion. monitoring of the anchorage structure was to observe the
position in the plane of the fixed point in the anchorage
4. DYNAMIC MONITORING OF CURTAIN structure before and after the cable was cut off to
understand the deformation of the anchorage structure
WALL DISMANTLEMENT before and after the cable was removed. Curtain wall
relative displacement monitoring was to observe the
4.1. Arrangement of reference points coordinates of the fixed measuring point of the curtain
wall, mainly the deformation in the vertical and horizontal
The point-supported glass curtain wall with cable longitudinal plane. The layout of the monitoring points is
structure was a complex stress system. During the shown in Figure 10.
construction of the removal process, with the unloading of
the prestressed cable, the anchorage structure would
deform, which would affect the interrelated cable force
and the deformation of the curtain wall system. so it is
necessary to monitor whether there is deformation in the
areas with mutual influence.
The elevation system of the monitoring control
network adopts the assumed elevation system. The
elevation control network shall be arranged and designed
according to the following principles: (1) The distributed
control points form a control network, and the observation
points and the associated control points form an extended
Figure. 10 The layout of the monitoring points
network. (2) Control network and extension network
should be designed as closed loop and node network
attached elevation route. (3) The standard stone of the

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4.3. Results of dynamic monitoring anchorage end of the cable was increased by 2.0 mm ~ 3.5
mm, and the vertical displacement of the anchorage end of
Monitoring points were marked with reflectors. During the cable was increased by 2.0 mm ~ 3.5 mm. The
the measurement, the total station was set up on the horizontal and vertical displacements of monitoring point
control points of the established measurement control 2-0 were the largest. there was a little change in the
network. The data of the monitoring points were read from displacement of the cable anchorage end. The construction
other control points to calculate the horizontal and vertical process had little effect on the cable anchorage end, and
displacements of the monitoring points. The displacement the cable was in a safe state.
of monitoring points under initial conditions was selected It could be seen in Figure. 12 that the increment in the
as a reference. The displacement of the anchor end of the horizontal displacement of the fixed measuring point of
cable and the displacement of the curtain wall structure in the curtain wall was 1.0 mm ~ 2.5 mm, and the increment
the stage of removing the glass, removing the vertical in vertical displacement was 0.5 mm ~ 4.0 mm. The
cable, installing the steel structure of the door, and horizontal and vertical displacements of monitoring point
installing the glass was obtained, as shown in Figure .11 7-2 were the smallest. The change in displacement of the
and Figure .12. fixed measuring point of the curtain wall was small. The
As can be seen in Figure. 11, the horizontal relative construction process had little influence on the fixed
displacement and vertical relative displacement of the measuring point of the curtain wall, and the whole curtain
anchorage end of the cable gradually increased with the wall structure was in a safe state.
construction progress. The horizontal displacement of the

(a) The change of horizontal displacement (b) The change of vertical displacement
Figure. 11 Displacement of cable anchorage end

(a) The change of horizontal displacement (b) The change of vertical displacement
Figure. 12 Displacement of Curtain wall structure
point supporting glass curtain wall dismantlement and
5. CONCLUSION reconstruction proposed in this paper had been
successfully implemented in this project. It ensured
With the rapid development of China's aviation industry, construction safety and greatly reduced the cost of labor,
there would be a large number of airport terminals facing equipment, and materials. Besides, it accelerated the
renovation. The construction technology of cable structure

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construction progress. This research could provide a

reference for the implementation of similar projects.

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