October 27, 2008

BETH will help test all types of building envelope technologies.

British Columbia Institute of Technology

BCIT unveils BETH, the Building Envelope Test Hut

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Earlier this year, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) unveiled its new research facility, the Building Envelope Test Hut (BETH), the first of its kind in Western Canada.

The facility, located on the main campus in Burnaby and part of BCIT’s Building Science Centre of Excellence, will be used to evaluate the thermal and moisture performance of full-scale building envelopes under the real-world conditions of BC’s rainforest environment.

It will also allow BCIT students to examine the application of current research and cutting-edge technologies at close range.

The 8.6-metre by 13.5-metre two-storey structure is tall enough to simulate conditions in low-rise condominium developments.

The building can accommodate 62 four- by eight-foot (1.2- by 2.4-metre) panels of various materials — including wood frame construction, steel, concrete and masonry — and evaluate the performance of these materials on a simulated indoor environment.

“The panels are isolated from one another at their joints to prevent interference between the panels,” said Ron Krpan, an instructor at BCIT’s Architectural Engineering and Building Technology program.

“The indoor conditions are maintained such that all panels are exposed equally. The panels can be changed as necessary and a number of panels can also be combined.

For example, four four-by-eight-foot panels can be replaced with one single eight by 16-foot panel.”

Replacement panels can accommodate various window and door configurations.

The facility is also designed to allow changes in the size of roof overhang and roof geometry, and can accommodate the testing of balconies and floor/wall junctions.

Inside the panelized walls of the facility, special equipment simulates the conditions of typical indoor occupancy by controlling temperature and relative humidity. A tank supplies humidifiers with water to simulate the moisture load associated with the routine activities of human occupants, such as cooking and showering.

“A 600-channel data acquisition system collects information from instrumentation located around and within the test panels, so that researchers can examine their performance in detail,” said Krpan. “Depending on the nature of the test, the instrumentation measures temperature, moisture content, air pressure differentials, relative humidity, heat flow, and weather. The interior space can be partitioned into two separately controlled environments. At times, the facility may also contain special apparatus to test individual panels for specific properties — such as air-tightness.”

The collected data has the potential to help quantify wind-driven rain, develop effective rain control strategies, and to evaluate the long-term performance of innovative envelope systems and building materials.

BCIT researchers can conduct research under contract to outside clients, but the facility will also be available to third parties who wish to contract the use of the facility to conduct their own research.

“This new facility will enable researchers to perform their cutting-edge work right here in Burnaby,” said Eliot Phillipson, president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, one of the organizations that helped fund the building.

The facility has already been used in a project funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the Homeowner Protection Office, and BC Housing.

“The research was conducted by BCIT personnel and a graduate student,” said Krpan.

“The first contract research for a private company is currently underway and involves hygrothermal testing of a proprietary building product.”

BCIT believes BETH will help to facilitate collaboration with CMHC and Natural Resources Canada in promoting Canadian building technologies to other countries and envisions the facility as a showcase for Canadian building products to international buyers.

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