BEESL at SU

The flow of evaluation in development of new materials for built environmental systems

Research focus

Develop advanced model-based test methods for determination the heat and moisture storage and transport properties of construction materials

Develop a comprehensive and reliable database of material properties for the simulation and prediction of the hygrothermal performance of construction materials and assemblies/systems

Develop innovative materials for heat, air and moisture control in building environmental system

Improve the fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of coupled heat, air and moisture transport in porous media

Develop mathematical models and computer simulation tools for the assessment of the long-term hygrothermal and durability performance of building envelope systems (working closely with the CHAMP Thrust)

Research facilities

Comprehensive capabilities for measuring the basic heat and moisture transport properties including: thermal conductivity, air permeability, sorption isotherm for hygroscopic and over-hygroscopic ranges, moisture diffusivity, porosity, and pore size distributions

Climate chamber

Develop methods for material characterization including pore structure descriptors and benchmarking of data used in HAM models

Develop test methods for determination of moisture storage and transport characteristics of construction materials (including water vapor permeance (WVP) dry and double cups, modified inverted cup: narrow-range high humidity, water absorption coefficient, liquid penetration resistance of membranes and saturated liquid conductivity)

Develop test methods for determination of uncontrolled airflows (UAF)in building enclosures of residential and small commercial buildings.(pdf)

Develop a comprehensive and reliable database of material properties for the simulation and prediction of the hygrothermal performance of construction materials and assemblies/systems.

Assist American industry in developing innovative materials for heat, air and moisture control in building environmental system (including development of methods for evaluation of hygrothermal performance of new products). More...

Research Team

Dr. Mark Bomberg (Team Leader)
Dr. Jensen Zhang
Mikael Salonvaara
Marcin Pezera
Miao Yang
John MacKenzie
Charlie Chen
Thomas Thorsell

Other collaborative faculty

Dr. John Grunewald, Junior Professor, Technical University of Dresden; Adjunct Associate Research Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University
Dr. Riyad Aboutaha, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Shoba Batia, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering