Material characterization and hygrothermal performance of breathable and vapour tight polyisocyanurate insulation

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Buildings have a significant impact on the environment both in energy consumption and greenhouse gas**emissions. The Canadian federal government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by**2020 from the 2005 levels. To achieve these ambitious targets current building design and operation practices**must change and high-performance buildings must incorporate innovative materials, designs and technologies.**One of the innovative technologies that can be instrumental in achieving net-zero energy building through**significant reduction of building envelope heat loss is implementing polyisocyanurate insulation sheathing as**an exterior insulation. Although the thermal performance of this insulation material is well known, the**moisture durability performance needs to be investigated further. The proposed research project aims to**characterize the hygrothermal properties and conduct a long-term durability performance study of IKO's**breathable and airtight polyisocyanurate insulation sheathing, as an exterior building envelope assembly, under**different climates and construction practices. The thermal and moisture transport and storage properties of the**IKO Enner-Air (breathable polyisocyanurate insulation sheathing) at different temperature and relative**humidity will be measured using the specialized facilities available at the Hygrothermal Property Measurement**Laboratory (HPML) at the Building Science Centre of Excellence. The hygrothermal performance of the two**types of IKO's polyisocyanurate insulation materials (breathable and double foil faced) in two different climate**zones, mild and cold, will be investigated using an advanced hygrothermal model, HAMFit. In addition to the**indoor and outdoor boundary conditions, the impact of a seam on both breathable and the foil-faced**polyisocyanurate, a common construction practice, on the hygrothermal performance of the system will also be**investigated. In the study, various wall designs with different thicknesses, cladding materials and interior**finishes will be considered. Based on analysis of the simulation results and the measured material property**data, the optimal building envelope design for the new material will be established and reported.