Case: NRC-IRC

Location

National Research Council of Canada:
Institute for Research in Construction
(NRC-IRC)
1200 Montreal Road
Ottawa, Ontario

Design and Construction in cooperation with

NRC-IRC Researchers and Technicians

Details

SMT Research is providing equipment, sensors, and knowledge in moisture measurement to advance building science and provide monitoring services for research on sustainable designs for wall and window assemblies.

The NRC-IRC Field Exposure of Walls facility provides opportunities for the characterisation of the hygrothermal performance of innovative wall and window systems. Researchers can examine the comparative performance of different side-by-side wall assemblies exposed to naturally fluctuating outdoor climate and controlled indoor conditions of relative humidity, temperature and pressure defined by occupancy and HVAC systems.

The SMT Research Wireless Monitoring System is installed in the unique facility in North America and is helping NRC-IRC scientists study the performance of exterior walls at controlling rain penetration. Wall specimens can be exposed to simulated wind-driven rain of various intensities. Water penetration through particular layers of the specimen, as well as the air leakage or venting of those layers can be monitored and characterized.