Performance of brick veneer steel stud wall systems subject to temperature, air pressure and vapour pressure differentials.

Use of Brick Veneer/Steel Stud wall systems has preceded adequate forma} scientific investigation into its long term serviceability and safety. Of particular interest to many parties is the performance of the wall system under typical winter conditions encountered in cold climate regions of Canada. In this study, experimental investigations of three types of Brick Veneer/Steel Stud wall systems were performed using a specially built apparatus used to provide air pressure, temperature and vapour pressure differentials across test specimens. In all, five wall specimens were tested for air leakage, thermal performance and moisture accumulation. A significant part of the research involved the design, construction and improvement of the test apparatus. Since the apparat us is unique, a chapter is devoted to its description. The conclusions presented indicate that some wall designs may perform poorly where even small construction flaws can lead to serviceability problems. Conversely, care in choice and placement of the air barrier, vapour barrier and thermal insulation in the wall system can lead to a wall system designs that are not vulnerable to the effects of less than "perfect" construction. It is furthermore concluded that the apparatus built for this study has real potential as a cost effective test tool suitable for adaptation as a standard test method to evaluate the environ mental performance of wall systems in general.