Southwestern Medical Center

CHALLENGE

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has grown from a small wartime medical college to one of the leading medical research facilities in the United States. A new state-of-the-art, 150,000-square-foot, six-story Biomedical Research and Advanced Imaging Building will enable research to be accelerated into new diagnostic testing and treat­ments for debilitating neurological and metabolic illnesses. Housing the latest diagnostic, research and clinical equip­ment in one location, the centre will facilitate the development of new approaches to patient care. The facility incorporated a four-sided unitized curtain wall system, requiring a new process for shop glazing to be set up and use of a fast-cure, two-part structural silicone for the first time.

SOLUTION

The shortened cure times required for in-plant glazing comes with the use of two-part, high-modulus silicone sealants where a base compound is pumped with a curing agent through a metered dispens­ing system. Units must move out quickly and be transported to the job site. If not done correctly, significant waste would be generated and there would be a loss of valuable production time. To facilitate the transition to a new process, Tremco provided a loaner pump to get started and training on its use. Proglaze® II, a high-performance struc­tural silicone, provided the shortened cure time to reduce the glazing/sealing produc­tion time.

A team of engineering and technical sup­port from Tremco conducted compatibility testing and provided the product require­ments and test procedures, including the snap and butterfly tests for quality control. A glazing specialist provided guidance on how to handle the material when laying it out, how long units should be held before shipping, what to anticipate in terms of production issues, cleaning, stocking and techniques for lifting the frames before they were cured. The local technical sales representative provided field support, including meeting with the architect and tracking the job from start to finish.

Though setting up a new process with a product not used before on a tight time­line is not an easy venture, working with suppliers who share your commitment to superior solutions, anything is possible.

THE TREMCO SOLUTION

Proglaze II Structural Silicone Sealant, a strong, high-modulus silicone sealant comprised of a white base component and black curing agent which cure to a tough, flexible rubber when pumped through a metered dispensing system.

• Developed specifically for in-plant two- and four-sided structural glazing and curtain wall applications where shortened cure time reduces glazing/sealing production time.
• Snap time is as low as 30-60 minutes.
• Quick tensile strength.

Spectrem® 2 Structural Silicone Sealant, a high-performance, neutral-cure sealant for use as both a tensile and weather bead in structural glazing systems and for sealing joints with curtain wall and window wall systems.

Spectrem 1 Silicone Joint Sealant, an ultra-low-modulus, high-performance, one-part, moisture-curing sealant ideal for use on the most demanding, dynamically moving joints.

Silicone-Compatible Rubber Extrusions, fabricated into gaskets and accessories for use in sealing and structural glazing applications.