The building material laboratory in our department boasts a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment that enables us to produce novel research on building materials from small- to full-scale. Technical guidelines and documentation on the equipment is linked in the individual sections below.

Vapor Sorption Analyzer (VSA)

Producer: METER Group
Funded by: The Obel Family Foundation, 2017 (171,250 DKK)

The VSA apparatus is used to generate automatic moisture sorption isotherms. Water vapor sorption isotherms are crucial in determining moisture retention and release in building constructions. It is capable of achieving both static and dynamic isotherms by the Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS) and Dynamic Dew Point Isotherm (DDI) methods respectively. The VSA is commonly used in the food-industry and medical field, but is also applicable to building materials, in favour of the time-consuming standard methods. The VSA is able to achieve isotherms in the range of 3% to 95% relative humidity at temperatures ranging from 15 – 60°C.

Guarded Hot Plate Apparatus

Producer: Lambda-Messtechnik GmbH Dresden
Partly funded by: Innovation Fund Denmark (prev. Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation), 20XX

The Guarded Hot Plate Apparatus measures the thermal conductivity of a wide range of materials, derived by the sample thickness, surface temperatures and heat flux. These are commonly performed on construction and insulation materials. The thermal conductivity is a core element in determining the thermal performance of a material, through U-values. The Hot Plate operates according to ISO 8302, EN 12667, ASTM C177 and high measurement accuracy in according test requirements.

Technical guidelines and documentation

Netzsch LFA 447 NanoFlash (Laser Flash)

Producer: Netzsch
Partly funded by: Innovation Fund Denmark (prev. Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation), 20XX

The Netzsch LFA 447 NanoFlash (Laser Flash) is used to measure the thermal diffusivity and the specific heat capacity of different materials. The Laser Flash measures the temperature signal by IR detection on small samples heated by laser pulses.

Technical guidelines and documentation

Artificial Sun

Producer:
Funded by: The Obel Family Foundation, 2012 (305,150 DKK)

The Artificial Sun is a large piece of equipment that replicates solar radiation. It counts 36 OSRAM Ultra-Vitalux light bulbs (300 W). It allows for experimental set-ups that investigate the impact of the sun on building facades under controlled conditions.

TRIUMF Laboratory

Produced by: Aalborg University
Funded by: Aalborg University

The Two Room Indoor Environment & Energy Universal Facade (TRIUMF) Laboratory is designed for the performance assessment of full-scale building facade elements. It consists of a building facade that faces controlled boundary conditions on its interior side and the outdoor environment on its exterior side. The south-facing laboratory facade is placed on the top of the Department of Civil Engineering with no surrounding obstructions. The laboratory serves multiple research objectives:

• Empirical validation of numerical models
• Dynamic thermal performance of facade components
• Integration of facade elements with chilled beams, radiant terminals or other HVAC systems
• Development of control strategies
• User interaction

Guarded Hot Box

Producer:
Funded by:

The Guarded Hot Box is a full-scale experimental set-up that is used to investigate Heat Air Moisture (HAM) properties of building materials. It can be divided into multiple accurately controlled zones, where-in steady-state conditions are reached. The Hot Box can be supplied with a range of sensors to measure temperature, relative humidity, heat flow, radiation, etc.
Research objectives for the set-up include:

• Hygrothermal performance of full-size material samples
• Non-isothermal convective flow
• The impact of human occupants, furniture, heat sources, etc.

The Hot Box consists of a hot chamber and a cold chamber, where-in the artificial sun can be placed. The air change rate can be varied between 0 to 10h^-1.

White Hot Box

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