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Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness

Authors :
Xiaofeng Zheng
Edward Cooper
Yingqing Zu
Mark Gillott
David Tetlow
Saffa Riffat
Christopher Wood
Source :
Future Cities and Environment, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Ubiquity Press, 2019.

Abstract

A pulse pressurisation technique is developed and utilised for determining building leakage at low pressure, based on a “quasi-steady pulse” concept. The underlying principle of the technique is to subject the building envelope to a known volume change in a short period of time (typically 1.5 s). The resulting pressure pulse is recorded, from which the leakage characteristic at low pressure is determined. The technique minimizes the effects of wind and buoyancy forces and has proven to be repeatable. It can use a compact and portable test rig and does not need to penetrate the building envelope. Therefore, it can obtain the leakage of a building very quickly and efficiently. Throughout the various stages of research and development of the pulse technique, experimental investigations have been carried out under different configurations and scenarios in order to validate the changes that have been made for the purpose of system development and optimisation. This paper provides an overview of experimental investigations in the validation process by covering comparison between blower door and pulse unit, comparison between piston-based pulse unit and nozzle-based pulse unit, testing with multiple pulse units in a large building, testing with a known opening, and testing in different building types with a range of volumes and airtightness levels. It enables us to understand the strengths and the limits of the pulse technique, from the experimental and practical perspectives. A good repeatability level (within ±5%) has been maintained throughout the various developmental stages and the average value of Q50/Q4 reported herein was in close agreement (

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
23639075
Volume :
5
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Future Cities and Environment
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1b5caaef75624d00b642c833a5661ec5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.5334/fce.66