Protocol for Field Testing of Tall Buildings to Determine Envelope Air Leakage Rate.
Abstract
The objective of this project was to develop a relatively simple, yet accurate method for testing the envelope leakage rate of tall buildings. Alternative pressurization test techniques were developed and two methods, the floor-by-floor blower door method and the air handler method, were tested on two buildings. The floor-by-floor blower door method involves isolating and measuring the leakage flow rate through a single floor. Difficulty in eliminating inter-floor leakage in the floor-by-floor blower door method led to the development of the air handler method. In this method, air handler fans pressurize the whole building or a building zone using outdoor air. The outdoor air flow rate through the fan is measured using a tracer gas dilution technique with only one flow meter and one concentration sensor. The leakage characteristics of the test zone can then be calculated by establishing a relationship between the pressure differential across the building envelope and the corresponding outdoor air flow. The air handler method using a tracer gas flow measurement technique provides the most straightforward and efficient procedure to determine the leakage characteristics of tall buildings. It produced highly repeatable results with an estimated uncertainty of 5.5%.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA358499
Entities
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology