Airbase publication

Describes methods of measuring the air tightness of whole buildings. Outlines three tracer gas methods; constant concentration; decreasing concentration and constant emission. Describes pressurisation method. Describes measuring equipment and test procedure and discusses calculation of ventilation rateand error magnitudes. Gives brief summary of measured results and an appendix contains a print-out of data on the airtightness of houses.

Presents results of measurements of fluctuating wind pressures on prisms of square and rectangular section mounted on the rooftop of a 4-storied building. Describes models and experimental methods. Finds pressure fluctuations of thewindward side are subject to the influence of wind turbulence. Negative pressure on leeward side is relatively stable exceptwhere strong vortices are being shed Very high negative pressures were observed intermittently along the edges of a top board.

This is a revision of the original standard, published 1959.

Reports detailed investigation of the interaction between group geometry, flow properties and resulting pressure forces on a group of buildings. 

Reports model scale experiments to investigate the validity of digital analogue methods of predicting natural ventilation. Finds calculated ventilation rates up to 30% higher than observed model ventilation rates. Shows differences between observed and computed results caused by operating efficiency of ventilation openings being less than calibrated efficiencies. Corrected ventilation rates, allowing for changes in efficiency due to pressure fluctuations and lateral air flows over model surfaces showed close agreement with observed results.

Examines ways in which air leakage affects building performance. Heating load and building relative humidity in winter are affected by over-all air infiltration and ventilation rates. Windows and doors usually represent the major source of air leakage in buildings. Condensation problems occur when exfiltrating air deposits moisture on surfaces such as atticsand inside double windows. Discusses ways of reducing condensation. Finds that air tightness in inside of enclosure must always be many times greater than that of the outer cladding.

Developes procedure for calculating air infiltration rates due to wind pressures on the exterior walls of buildings, assuming no chimney and mechanical ventilation effects. Assumes resistance to internal air flow is small. Using results of wind tunnel test, presents calculations showing the significant effects a single neighbouring building can have on the infiltration rates. Relative building heights, distance between buildings and wind direction are varied, and both uniform and shear flows are considered.