Erkoreka, A; Flores-Abascal, I; Escudero, C; Martin, K; Millan, J A and Sala, J M (2020) Flat roof hygrothermal performance testing and evaluation. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 38(1), pp. 148-175. ISSN 23984708
Abstract
Purpose: Understanding the dynamic hygrothermal behavior of building elements is very important to ensure the optimal performance of buildings. The Laboratory for Quality Control in Buildings of the Basque Government tested a flat roof designed by a construction company that developed a building to be constructed using prefabricated modules. This is a five to eight floor building with ventilated façade and a flat roof covered by gravel with the possibility of changing it to a green cover. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The interest of this research was threefold. The first objective was to accurately test, under real dynamic weather conditions, the roof design in a PASLINK test cell to obtain the U-value and the thermal capacitance of the different roof layers, and of the roof as a whole, through the precise calibration of resistance-capacitance mathematical models of the roof. Based on the parameters and experimental information of these calibrated models, a second goal was to calibrate and validate a Wufi model of the roof. Findings: This second calibrated model was then used to simulate the dynamic hygrothermal behavior of the roof, obtaining the roof’s hourly thermal demand per square meter for a whole year in different locations considered in the Spanish Building Code. These simulations also permitted the authors to study the risk of condensation and mold growth of the tested component under different climatic conditions. Originality/value: The successful combination of the PASLINK method to calibrate the Wufi hygrothermal model is the main novelty of this research.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building component rc-model calibration; flat roof dynamic testing; hygrothermal hourly performance simulation; paslink method; wufi model calibration |
| Index terms: | hygrothermal performance, construction company, mathematical model, laboratory, weather, building component, building code, methodology, performance simulation, climatic condition, flat roof, roof, testing, quality control, module |
| Subjects: | regulatory law, research management, material properties and characteristics, research methods, architectural elements, design practice, project delivery, professional practice, modelling and simulation, climate science, organization, air quality, mathematical modelling |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Construction Materials, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here