The impact of the thermal mass on field energy performance of insulating concrete form (ICF) wall

This research evaluated the dynamic heat transmission characteristics through an ICF wall assembly in FEWF for a one year cycle of exposure to outdoor natural weathering conditions. The monitored data confirmed that the concrete adds very little to the overall R-value of the wall assembly under steady-state conditions. During the transient conditions, the data showed that the concrete played a significant role in tempering heat loss to the exterior. The thermal mass of the concrete was shown to reduce the peak heat flux through the assembly during cold weather. The present NRC-IRC?s hygrothermal model, called hygIRC-C, was used to interpret the readings of the instrumentations and to improve the experiment design by repositioning these instrumentations at critical locations. Subsequently, the present model was benchmarked against the measured data. Results showed that the predictions of the present model are in good agreement with experimental data. This research is one of a series of projects that highlight direct and indirect impacts of thermal performance of the building Envelope technologies in houses. This research is on-going. Recently, the present model was used to conduct numerical simulations in order to investigate the transient thermal response of full-scale ICF wall assemblies subjected to different Canadian climates.Dans le cadre de cette recherche, on a \ue9valu\ue9 les caract\ue9ristiques de la transmission dynamique de la chaleur \ue0 travers un mur fait \ue0 partir de coffrage \ue0 b\ue9ton isolant (CBI), \ue0 l?Installation d?exposition in-situ des murs, pendant un cycle d?exposition d?un (1) an aux conditions naturelles d?alt\ue9ration m\ue9t\ue9orique \ue0 l?ext\ue9rieur. Les donn\ue9es de surveillance ont confirm\ue9 que le b\ue9ton contribue tr\ue8s peu \ue0 la valeur \uab R \ubb globale du mur en conditions d?\ue9quilibre. En conditions transitoires, les donn\ue9es indiquent que le b\ue9ton jouait par contre un r\uf4le significatif en temp\ue9rant la perte de chaleur vers l?ext\ue9rieur. Il est apparu que la masse thermique du mat\ue9riau r\ue9duit le flux de chaleur de pointe \ue0 travers l?ensemble par temps froid. Le pr\ue9sent mod\ue8le hygrothermique de l?IRC-CNRC, appel\ue9 hygIRC-C, a \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9 aux fins de l?interpr\ue9tation des lectures des appareillages et de l?am\ue9lioration de la conception des exp\ue9riences par relocalisation de ces appareillages en des emplacements critiques. Par apr\ue8s, le pr\ue9sent mod\ue8le a \ue9t\ue9 \ue9talonn\ue9 en regard des donn\ue9es mesur\ue9es. Les r\ue9sultats indiquent que les pr\ue9dictions du pr\ue9sent mod\ue8le concordent de fa\ue7on satisfaisante avec les donn\ue9es exp\ue9rimentales. Cette recherche permanente appartient \ue0 une s\ue9rie de projets qui mettent en lumi\ue8re les incidences directes et indirectes de la performance thermique des technologies de l?enveloppe des b\ue2timents r\ue9sidentiels. R\ue9cemment, on a utilis\ue9 le mod\ue8le en question pour diriger des simulations num\ue9riques dans le but d?examiner la r\ue9ponse thermique transitoire de murs CBI en vraie grandeur, expos\ue9s \ue0 diverses conditions climatiques canadiennes.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye