Grant: Engage Grants Program

The proposed research project aims to investigate the hygrothermal performance of ICF walls with the 3MSelf-Adhered Air and Vapor Barrier Membrane 3015 using an advanced heat-air-moisture (HAM) model calledHAMFit (Tariku 2008; Tariku et al. 2010). The moisture management potential of the systems, morespecifically management of the significantly high construction moisture, and the risk of condensation in theassembly will be used as indicators of the systems' performance. The model has a capability of simulatingtransient thermal and moisture responses of building envelope components to time varying boundaryconditions. In this study the weather conditions in Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg will be considered to assessthe performance of the system in wet, cold and very cold climatic regions, respectively. Moreover, two indoorenvironmental conditions that represent commercial buildings with controlled indoor temperature and relativehumidity, and buildings with only heating system will be considered in the study. In the later building type, theindoor temperature and relative humidity are free floating except during the heating season when the indoortemperature is controlled. In addition to the indoor and outdoor boundary conditions, the position of the 3MSelf-Adhered Air and Vapor Barrier Membrane 3015 in the ICF wall will be considered as variable in thehygrothermal modeling. In the study, different ICF wall designs with different thickness of concrete core, typesand thickness of insulating forms (EPS and XPS), cladding materials and interior finishes will be considered.Through this exhaustive study, the hygrothermal performance of the wall system under consideration will becharacterized. Based on analysis of the simulation results the optimal building envelope design parameters forthe 3M Self-Adhered Air and Vapor Barrier Membrane 3015 will be established.