Vliet Test Building - Leuven/Belgium

(www.kuleuven.ac.be/bwf/eng/research_vliet.htm)

"The Vliet test building creates the possibility to study envelope parts exposed to the real climate and to evaluate their energy efficiency, hygric behaviour and durability. The objectives of in situ research on highly insulated envelope components are:

• To obtain a better perception of the combined heat, air and moisture transfer and their influence on the global fysical behaviour and the durability of envelope components;,
• To understand how each separate material layer influences the quality of the total building system;,
• To guide the development of energy efficient and durable envelope solutions with the acquired knowledge.,
• ,

"The test building is divided in two modules, where a different inside climate can be installed. The smaller module 1 contains measuring bays for 8 testwalls and 4 flat roofs. The larger module 2 provides place for 12 walls and 6 duo-pitch roofs. Because each test wall is installed in both sides of the modules, the test building allows to study 10 different walls and 10 roofs simultaneously.

In between both modules, two additional spaces are located: a room for the air conditioning and the central logging unit, and a small, separately conditioned testroom for applications of passive solar energy. This room has a southwest oriented measuring bay, that may contain 3 additional testwalls. Above these rooms is a paved roof, where an automatic weather station is planned. It further allows to get to the testroofs from the outside. The roof is accessible from a stairway in the northeast facade.

Together with the building faces, the installation room and the paved roof are the only 'fixed' parts of the testbuilding. The other walls and roofs only consist of a frame to mount the testparts. The actual entrance to the testbuilding is located next to the stairway in the northeast facade. Here one enters the installation room, that opens all the test modules. To bring larger elements, such as construction parts, into the building, the test modules are directly accessible through gates in the fronts.

The buiding size is bazed on the dimensions of the testwalls and-roofs. To make the testparts representative of real envelope parts, sufficienly large measuring bays are chosen. Their width is 1.8 m.

The wall bays have an average storey height, this is 2.7 m. The roof bays are 3 m long in horizontal projection. In total, the testbuilding is 25.2 m long and 7.2 m wide. The eaves and the ridge of the sloped roofs are 4m, respectively 7.6 m above the finished floor level.