Development, in situ monitoring and hygrothermal analysis of next generation spandrels for Canadian climate******

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Curtain walls are an important component of modern building envelopes. They are non-structural elements that are typically designed with aluminum extrusions and glass. Like every type of envelopes, they create a barrier between the indoor environment and the exterior, thus protecting the buidling from rain, moisture, heat and air infiltrations. The vision glass portion of the curtain wall system is the one through which occupants can see outside, whereas the spandrel or non-vision glass is the remaining portion of the curtain wall system, which can be used, for example, to hide the structure, ducts, etc., from the outside. Spandrels can be a weak element in terms of heat transfer in curtain wall systems, in particular in cold climats such as that of Canada. Nevertheless, their performance is not well documented in scientific or gray literature, and there is currently no normative procedure to do so as exists for other elements of curtain walls. This project will focus on the analysis and development of next-generation spandrel systems. The objective of the project is to develop a better understanding of the heat and moisture transfer in spandrels with different levels and types of insulation and different pressure management/ventilation strategies. This knowledge will help the industry to improve the spandrel systems and meet the requirements for more energy-efficient buildings. The project will involve the development of heat transfer models to assess the performance of different designs, as well as the heat transfer monitoring of curtain wall systems on a test bench located on the campus of Université Laval.****