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Title: Researching Complex Heat, Air and Moisture Interactions for a Wide-Range of Building Envelope Systems and Environmental Loads

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/940250· OSTI ID:940250

This document serves as the final report documenting work completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Fraunhofer Institute in Building Physics (Holzkirchen, Germany) under an international CRADA No. 0575 with Fraunhofer Institute of Bauphysics of the Federal Republic of Germany for Researching Complex Heat, Air and Moisture Interactions for a Wide Range of Building Envelope Systems and Environmental Loads. This CRADA required a multi-faceted approach to building envelope research that included a moisture engineering approach by blending extensive material property analysis, laboratory system and sub-system thermal and moisture testing, and advanced moisture analysis prediction performance. The Participant's Institute for Building physics (IBP) and the Contractor's Buildings Technology Center (BTC) identified potential research projects and activities capable of accelerating and advancing the development of innovative, low energy and durable building envelope systems in diverse climates. This allowed a major leverage of the limited resources available to ORNL to execute the required Department of Energy (DOE) directives in the area of moisture engineering. A joint working group (ORNL and Fraunhofer IBP) was assembled and a research plan was executed from May 2000 to May 2005. A number of key deliverables were produced such as adoption of North American loading into the WUFI-software. in addition the ORNL Weather File Analyzer was created and this has been used to address environmental loading for a variety of US climates. At least 4 papers have been co-written with the CRADA partners, and a chapter in the ASTM Manual 40 on Moisture Analysis and Condensation Control. All deliverables and goals were met and exceeded making this collaboration a success to all parties involves.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
940250
Report Number(s):
ORNL00-0575; TRN: US200824%%238
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English