Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness
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). Th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Future Cities and Environment |
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| Online Access: | https://futurecitiesandenvironment.com/articles/66 |
| _version_ | 1811334854247186432 |
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| author | Xiaofeng Zheng Edward Cooper Yingqing Zu Mark Gillott David Tetlow Saffa Riffat Christopher Wood |
| author_facet | Xiaofeng Zheng Edward Cooper Yingqing Zu Mark Gillott David Tetlow Saffa Riffat Christopher Wood |
| author_sort | Xiaofeng Zheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 (<1%) with that reported in a study based on a large database obtained across a number of countries. It was also proven feasible to measure the airtightness of large buildings using the pulse technique. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:15:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b5caaef75624d00b642c833a5661ec5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2363-9075 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:15:30Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Future Cities and Environment |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b5caaef75624d00b642c833a5661ec52022-12-22T02:38:09ZengUbiquity PressFuture Cities and Environment2363-90752019-06-015110.5334/fce.6653Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building AirtightnessXiaofeng Zheng0Edward Cooper1Yingqing Zu2Mark Gillott3David Tetlow4Saffa Riffat5Christopher Wood6Architecture, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, NottinghamDepartment of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham, NingboDepartment of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham, NingboArchitecture, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, NottinghamArchitecture, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, NottinghamArchitecture, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, NottinghamArchitecture, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, NottinghamA 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 (<1%) with that reported in a study based on a large database obtained across a number of countries. It was also proven feasible to measure the airtightness of large buildings using the pulse technique.https://futurecitiesandenvironment.com/articles/66Building airtightnessBlower doorPulse techniqueExperimental validation |
| spellingShingle | Xiaofeng Zheng Edward Cooper Yingqing Zu Mark Gillott David Tetlow Saffa Riffat Christopher Wood Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness Future Cities and Environment Building airtightness Blower door Pulse technique Experimental validation |
| title | Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness |
| title_full | Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness |
| title_short | Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness |
| title_sort | experimental studies of a pulse pressurisation technique for measuring building airtightness |
| topic | Building airtightness Blower door Pulse technique Experimental validation |
| url | https://futurecitiesandenvironment.com/articles/66 |
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