Design, Implementation, Control and Durability:

Feedback from Practice and Perspectives

The AIVC workshop on airtightness which will be held April 18th-19th, 2013 in Rockville, near Washington DC.

TightVent is pleased to partner with AIVC for this event which will also be the 3rd TightVent Workshop on Building and Ductwork Airtightness, thereby continuing the series initiated with the two successful international workshops held in Brussels in June 2010 and March 2012.

The workshop includes presentations from several countries on a variety of issues, approaches and solutions in their different contexts. Presentations will emphasize recent developments in test methods, building airtightness performance data, approaches to design, construction and commissioning that contribute to good airtightness performance, and the development of airtightness requirements in codes, standards and regulations. While much of the discussion will focus on commercial and other high-rise buildings, the workshop will also address residential buildings.

More information on venue, programme, and registration

Papers selected for Long Oral Presentation

Policy and Requirements

• The changing requirements on airtightness in the US. Wagdy Anis, WJE Associates, USA.
• Efforts for providing quality control regarding airtightness, Laverne Dalgleish, chair of ABAA
• New and retrofitted army buildings. Alexander Zhivov, USACE, USA

Product Characterization – Innovative Sealing Technologies

• Airtightness of window-wall interfaces in masonry brick walls and wood-frame construction. Nathan Van den Bossche, Belgium
• Evaluation of an Interior Air Barrier System with Dynamic Water Vapour Control in North American Climates. Stanley D. Gatland II, CertainTeed, USA
• Pre-compressed foams. Joerg Birkelbach, Tremco illbruck, USA
• The Science of Rough Opening Preparation and Window Installation to Minimize Air Leakage, Sam Hagerman, Hammer and Hand, USA
• Service Life Prediction for Sealants. Joannie Chin, NIST, USA
• Innovative Sealant Technology Provides Design Flexibility for Air Tight Joints. Andrea Wagner, Dow Corning, USA
• Achieving and Certifying Building Envelope Air Tightness with an Aerosol-Based Automated Sealing Process, Mark Modera, UC Davis, USA

Design and Quality Control – Energy Impacts

• Building Enclosure Commissioning – BECx -The Plan – Why, What, How, Where, Who ? William R. Nash , P.E. USA
• Performance of Duct Leakage Test Methods – When to Use Which and Why, Paul Francisco, University of Illinois, USA
• Consideration of Envelope Airtightness in Calculating Commercial Building Energy Consumption, Lisa Chen Ng, NIST, USA
• Interactions of airtightness with ventilation systems and implications on energy use. Willem de Gids, NL
  Energy Impacts of Envelope Tightening and Mechanical Ventilation for the U.S. Residential Sector, Jennifer Logue, LBNL, USA
• Institutional Building Leakage Reduction and CONTAM Energy Savings of Air Sealing Improvements, David Bohac, Center for Energy and Environment, USA`
• Achieving Tight Buildings through Building Envelope Commissioning, John Runkle, Architectural Testing, USA
• The effect of air tightness on the energy consumption – Analyses of field measurements. Wouter Borsboom, TNO, Netherlands

Measurement Methods, Field Campaigns and Data Analysis

• Case Studies of Whole Building Air Leakage Testing, Jason S. Der Ananian, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, USA
• Measuring the Air Tightness of Mid and High Rise Non-Residential Buildings. Wagdy Anis, WJE, USA.
• Large Building Air Leakage Measurement – What Has Been Done and What Is Possible, Denali Jones, Retrotec, USA
• Uncertainty in multi-zone air leakage measurements using simulations and field data, Erin Hult, LBNL, USA
• Air tightness of buildings in Poland, Michal Szymanski, Poznan University of Technology, Poland
• Repeatability of Whole-Building Airtightness Measurements: Midrise Residential Case Study. Collin Olson, The Energy Conservatory, USA
• Stack Effect and Mechanical Exhaust System Impacts on Building Pressures and Envelope Air Leakage, Sean M. O’Brien, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, USA
• Field Experience with Sealing Large-Building Duct Leakage with an Aerosol-Based Sealing Process, Mark Modera, UC Davis, USA
• Analysis of the NIST Commercial and Institutional Building Envelope Leakage Database. Steven Emmerich, NIST, USA
• Practical experience with training and performing airtightness tests in large buildings. Karl Grimnes, Termografi og Maaleteknikk as, Norway
• Building envelope and duct system airtightness of US new dwellings, Wanyu R. Chang, LBNL, USA

Papers selected for short oral presentation

• Commissioning of exterior building envelopes of large buildings for air leakage and thermal anomalies using infrared thermography and other diagnostic tools, Mario D. Gonçalves, Patenaude-Trempe Inc, Canada
• Impact of Sheathing Installation Practices on Air Barriers, Brett T. Fagan, USA
• Large public buildings air tightness in Poland, Radoslaw Gorzenski, Poznan University of Technology, Poland
• The Science of Fluid-Applied Flashing Systems, Paul Grahovac, Prosoco, USA
• An Airtight Shell for Effective Ducts, Tom Schneider, Building Envelope Innovations, USA
• Thought Experiments for Evaluating Building Air Leakage Test Procedures. David Saum, Infiltec, USA
• Optimizing Outside Pressure Taps To Reduce Wind Induced Pressure Errors. David Saum, Infiltec, USA