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Testing of flat roofs insulated with cellulose fiber

Fazio, P., Derome, D., Gebasi, D., Athienitis, A., Depani, S., Kovacevic, P.
1998
Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Buildings VII, ASHRAE/BETEC/CIBSE/ORNL/USDOE/NRCC, December 7-11, Clearwater Beach Florida

Fazio, P., Derome, D., Gebasi, D., Athienitis, A., Depani, S., Kovacevic, P., (1998), "Testing of flat roofs insulated with cellulose fiber", Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Buildings VII, ASHRAE/BETEC/CIBSE/ORNL/USDOE/NRCC, December 7-11, Clearwater Beach Florida.
Abstract:
A series of laboratory tests using a large-scale environmental chamber has been carried out on two flat roof models fully insulated with cellulose fiber. These two models represent typical flat roofs of urban houses, built in Montreal between 1930 and 1970. The insulating strategy consists of packing cellulose fiber to a density of approximately 4 lb/ft3 (67 kg/m3) in a single cavity roof between the roof planking and the ceiling plaster. The goal of the test program was to determine the performance of the assembly in terms of the risk of moisture accumulation in the roof assembly. The physical setup is a full-scale mock-up of the most common shallow flat roofs found in the Montreal area. The selection of the physical characteristics of the two test huts was based on the characteristics of 500 residential buildings. The two roof assemblies had different thicknesses, with one having 8 in. (200 mm) of insulation and the other 14 in. (350 mm). Each hut contained five roof cavities-one reference cavity without insulation and four insulated. One of the insulated cavities was sealed with polyurethane foam at all of its bypasses and was hence subjected to little or no air leakage, while the other three cavities were exposed to both diffusion and air exfiltration conditions. The testing protocol was developed to reproduce wetting conditions slightly higher than typically found in these houses. The humidity transfer was monitored using three methods: moisture content sensors in wood, relative humidity sensors in the insulation, and gravimetry for wood and cellulose specimens. The construction and the data collection are described in this paper. The difficulties in monitoring moisture transfer over long periods of time are also discussed. Major results of the six-and-a-half month test program using seven simulated climatic conditions are presented. Wetting and drying curves for roof cavities are presented, and exposure time to moisture is compiled and presented. The reliability of the test procedure is discussed. This paper shows that the developed procedure permitted the assessment of the net moisture accumulation and the moisture exposure level after one complete wetting/drying cycle with precisely known conditions.
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Author Information and Other Publications Notes
Fazio, P.
Paul Fazio, Professor of Building, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal
  1. A limit state design (LSD) approach for comparing relative drying performance of wood-frame envelope systems with full-scale lab, A roadmap towards intelligent net zero- and positive-energy buildings,
  2. A new test method to determine the relative drying capacity of building envelope panels of various configurations
  3. A new testing method to evaluate the relative drying performance of different building envelope systems using water trays
  4. A quantitative study for the measurement of driving rain exposure in the Montr¨¦al region
  5. A review of research activities in energy efficiency in buildings in Canada
  6. Airtightness testing and air flow modeling of two and three-unit multifamily buildings
  7. Airtightness testing of two- and three-unit buildings with a single fan
  8. Approach for the simulation of wetting due to rain infiltration for building envelope testing
  9. Approach for urban driving rain index by using climatological data recorded at suburban meteorological station
  10. Behavior of wall assemblies with different wood sheathings wetted by simulated rain penetration
  11. Building Physics: 3rd International Conference in Building Physics
  12. Building pressurisation can affect possibility of mould growth
  13. Cavity pressure in rain screen walls
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  16. Creative case adaptation for building engineering design
  17. Design and construction of an environmental chamber facility
  18. Design Methodology of Solar Neighborhoods
  19. Development of experimental procedure to evaluate potential movement of mold spores from wall cavity to indoor environment
  20. Development of HAM tool for building envelope analysis
  21. Effect of capillarity on rainwater penetration in the building envelope
  22. Environmental chamber for investigation of building envelope performance
  23. Essai sur les toits plats isol¨¦s ¨¤ la fibre de cellulose
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  39. Large scale testing of two flat roof assemblies insulated with cellulose
  40. Mapping of air leakage in exterior wall assemblies
  41. Measuring air leakage characteristics with flexible double air chambers
  42. Measuring air leakage of full-scale curtain wall sections using a non-rigid air-chamber method
  43. Methods for the assessment of moisture content of envelope assemblies
  44. Modeling of moisture behavior of wood planks in nonvented flat roofs
  45. Modelling of indoor air humidity: the dynamic behaviour within an enclosure
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  47. Moisture performance of leaky exterior walls with added insulation
  48. Nonlinear elastic analysis of panelized shear sandwich walls
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  50. Performance evaluation protocol for full-scale wood-frame building envelopes
  51. Potential of rain screen walls to prevent rain penetration: pressurized cavity principle
  52. Quantitative driving rain exposure on a vertical wall at various Canadian cities
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  55. Study of the reduced impact of thermal bridges in two sprayed-applied polyurethane wall assemblies
  56. Study on thermal performance of curtain walls using infrared thermography
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  58. The dynamic modelling of air humidity behaviour in a multi-zone space
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Derome, D.
Dominique Derome Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal
  1. Approach for the simulation of wetting due to rain infiltration for building envelope testing
  2. Behavior of wall assemblies with different wood sheathings wetted by simulated rain penetration
  3. Comparaison de m¨¦thodes de mesure de flux de chaleur pour sp¨¦cimens de grandes et moyennes dimensions
  4. Essai sur les toits plats isol¨¦s ¨¤ la fibre de cellulose
  5. Experimental setup for the study of air leakage patterns
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  7. Impact of added insulation on air leakage patterns
  8. Impact of air leakage pattern on reinsulated walls
  9. Large scale testing of two flat roof assemblies insulated with cellulose
  10. Mapping of air leakage in exterior wall assemblies
  11. Methodology and Application of Simulated Wind-Driven Rain Infiltration in Building Envelope Experimental Testing
  12. Methods for the assessment of moisture content of envelope assemblies
  13. Modeling of moisture behavior of wood planks in nonvented flat roofs
  14. Moisture occurrence in roof assemblies containing moisture storing insulation and its impact on the durability of building envelope
  15. Moisture performance of leaky exterior walls with added insulation
  16. Rainwater runoff from building facades: A review
  17. Rapport Final Projet Site Internet - L'enveloppe du batiment et l'efficacit¨¦ ¨¦nerg¨¦tique
  18. Review and framework for large-scale laboratory studies on wetting and drying of building envelopes
  19. Study of the reduced impact of thermal bridges in two sprayed-applied polyurethane wall assemblies
  20. The impact of sorption history and hysteresis on moisture pattern in a wood-framed building envelope
  21. The need for an integrated computer-based tool to support building envelope design
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Gebasi, D.
     
Athienitis, A.
Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal
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Depani, S.
GES Technologies, 6705 Jean-Talon East, Ste. 101, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, HIS 1N2
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Kovacevic, P.
     


CRDBER, at CBS, BCEE, ENCS, Concordia,