1、Designation: E 1186 03Standard Practices forAir Leakage Site Detection in Building Envelopes and AirBarrier Systems1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 1186; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the yea
2、r of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 These practices cover standardized techniques for locat-ing air leakage sites in building envelopes and air barr
3、iersystems.1.2 These practices offer a choice of means for determiningthe location of air leakage sites with each offering certainadvantages for specific applications.1.3 Some of the practices require a knowledge of infraredscanning, building and test chamber pressurization and depres-surization, sm
4、oke generation techniques, sound generation anddetection, and tracer gas concentration measurement tech-niques.1.4 The practices described are of a qualitative nature indetermining the air leakage sites rather than determiningquantitative leakage rates.1.5 This standard does not purport to address a
5、ll of thesafety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazardstatements, see Section 6.2. Referenced Do
6、cuments2.1 ASTM Standards:E 631 Terminology of Building Constructions2E 741 Test Method for Measuring Air Leakage Rate byTracer Dilution2E 779 Test Method for Determining Air Leakage Rate byFan Pressurization22.2 Other Standards:ANSI-ASHRAE Standard 101 Application of InfraredSensing Devices to the
7、Assessment of Building Heat LossCharacteristics3ISO Standard 6781 Thermal InsulationQualitative Detec-tion of Thermal Irregularities in Building EnvelopesInfrared Method33. Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 air leakage rate, nthe volume of air movement perunit time across the building envelope or air
8、 barrier system,including flow through joints, cracks, and porous surfaces, orcombinations thereof, in which the driving force for such airleakage in buildings is either mechanical pressurization orevacuation, natural wind pressures, or air temperature differ-ences between the building interior and
9、the outdoors, orcombinations thereof.3.1.2 air leakage site, na location on the building enve-lope or air barrier system where air can move between thebuilding interior and the outdoors.3.1.3 air infiltration, nair leakage into the building.3.1.4 air exfiltration, nair leakage out of the building.3.
10、1.5 building envelope, nthe boundary or barrier sepa-rating the interior volume of a building from the outsideenvironment.3.1.5.1 DiscussionFor the purpose of these practices, theinterior volume is the deliberately conditioned space within abuilding generally not including the attic space, basements
11、pace, and attached structures, unless such spaces are con-nected to the heating and air conditioning system, such as acrawl space plenum. The actual building envelope may extendbeyond these boundaries because of ducting or other construc-tion features.3.1.6 air barrier system, na system in building
12、construc-tion that is designed and installed to reduce air leakage eitherinto or through the building envelope.3.1.7 test specimen, nthe part of the air barrier system onthe building to be tested that may consist of the selected areasof materials comprising the principle resistance to airflow,joints
13、 between such materials and joints between the materialsand structural, mechanical or other penetrations through suchmaterials, and excludes any material which does not form anintegral part of the air barrier system.3.2 For other definitions, see Terminology E 631.1These practices are under the juri
14、sdiction of ASTM Committee E06 onPerformance of Buildings and are the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E06.41on Air Leakage and Ventilation.Current edition approved April 10, 2003. Published May 2003. Originallyapproved in 1987. Last previous edition approved in 1998 as E 1186 98.2Annual Book o
15、f ASTM Standards, Vol 04.11.3Available from American National Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd Street,New York, NY 10036.1Copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.4. Summary of Practice4.1 This standard presents the following
16、seven practices fordetecting air leakage sites in building envelopes:4.1.1 Combined building depressurization (or pressuriza-tion) and infrared scanning,4.1.2 Building depressurization (or pressurization) andsmoke tracers,4.1.3 Building depressurization (or pressurization) and air-flow measuring dev
17、ices,4.1.4 Generated sound and sound detection,4.1.5 Tracer gas detection,4.1.6 Chamber depressurization (or pressurization) andsmoke tracers, and4.1.7 Chamber depressurization and leak detection liquids.4.2 These practices are described as follows:4.2.1 Building Depressurization (or Pressurization)
18、 withInfrared Scanning TechniquesThis practice relies on theexistence of an indooroutdoor temperature difference of atleast 5 C. In most geographic locations, this condition is metduring some portion of the day over a large fraction of the year.Outdoor air is moved through the building envelope byde
19、pressurizing the building interior with a fan (see Test MethodE 779) or using the mechanical system in the building. Becausethe infiltrating air is at a different temperature than the interiorsurfaces of the building envelope, local interior surface tem-perature changes take place which can be detec
20、ted by infraredscanning equipment. The infrared pattern resulting from airleakage is different from that associated with varied levels ofthermal conductance in the envelope, allowing air leakage sitesto be identified. This practice can also be performed bypressurizing the building and scanning the e
21、xterior of thebuilding envelope.4.2.2 Smoke Tracer in Conjunction With Building Pressur-ization or DepressurizationThis practice consists of pressur-izing or depressurizing the building using a fan or the mechani-cal system in the building and moving a smoke tracer sourceover the interior or the ext
22、erior surface of the buildingenvelope. If the building is pressurized and the smoke tracersource is moved over the interior of the building envelope, airexfiltration through air leakage sites will draw smoke from thetracer source to the site, revealing its location visually. Alter-natively, if the b
23、uilding is depressurized and the smoke tracersource is moved over the interior of the building envelopesurface, then air jets at each air leakage site will cause thesmoke to move rapidly inward. Similarly, the smoke tracersource can be employed on the exterior of the buildingenvelope.4.2.3 Building
24、Depressurization (or Pressurization) in Con-junction With Airflow Measurement Devices, orAnemometersThis practice consists of depressurizing orpressurizing the building using a fan or the buildings mechani-cal systems and moving an anemometer over the interiorbuilding envelope surface. If the buildi
25、ng is depressurized, airjets will be present within the building at each air leakage site.As the anemometer is moved over the building envelopesurface, it will register an air velocity peak at the location ofthe air leakage site. If the building is pressurized, interior airwill flow toward each air
26、leakage site. In this case, the resultingmeasured air velocity peak will be less distinct.4.2.4 Generated Sound in Conjunction With SoundDetectionThis practice consists of locating a sound generatorwithin the building and moving a sound detection device overthe exterior of the building envelope. Inc
27、reased sound intensityis indicative of an air leakage site. Alternatively, the soundgenerator can be located outside the building and the interiorsurface of the building envelope can be surveyed using thesound detection device.4.2.5 Tracer GasThis practice consists of releasing atracer gas on one si
28、de of the building envelope and using atracer gas detector to measure the concentration of the tracergas on the other side. A measurable tracer gas concentrationindicates the location of an air leakage site. Pressurizing ordepressurizing the building envelope using a fan or thebuildings mechanical s
29、ystem improve the results obtained bythis method.4.2.6 Chamber Pressurization or Depressurization in Con-junction With Smoke TracersThis practice consists of sealingan approximately airtight chamber to a section of the interior orexterior of the air barrier system and using a fan to create apressure
30、 differential across the air barrier specimen. If a smoketracer source is moved over the surface of the test specimen onthe higher pressure side, air leakage will draw smoke toward anair leakage site, visually indicating the location. Conversely, ifa smoke tracer is moved over the surface of the tes
31、t specimenon the low pressure side, air jets at air leakage sites will causesmoke to move away from the air leakage site.4.2.7 Chamber Depressurization in Conjunction With LeakDetection LiquidThe practice consists of applying a leakdetection liquid to the test specimen surface, sealing a trans-paren
32、t chamber around the specimen and depressurizing thechamber with a fan. The location of an air leakage site isindicated by bubbling of the detection liquid at the air leakagesite.4.2.8 Other PracticesPractices such as the use of a smokebomb are not described here since they are very specialized andr
33、equire extreme caution due to additional difficulties such astriggering smoke alarms and causing lingering odors.5. Significance and Use5.1 Air infiltration into the conditioned space of a buildingaccounts for a significant portion of the thermal space condi-tion load. Air infiltration can affect oc
34、cupant comfort byproducing drafts, cause indoor air quality problems by carryingoutdoor pollutants into occupied building space and, in hothumid climates, can deposit moisture in the building enveloperesulting in deterioration of building envelope components. Incold climates, exfiltration of conditi
35、oned air out of a buildingcan deposit moisture in the building envelope causing deterio-ration of building envelope components. Differential pressureacross the building envelope and the presence of air leakagesites cause air infiltration and exfiltration (1).44The boldface numbers in parentheses ref
36、er to the list of references at the endof these practices.E11860325.2 In some buildings, restricting air movement betweeninterior zones of a building may be desired to separatedissimilar interior environments or prevent the movement ofpollutants.Although not dealt with specifically in this standard,
37、the detection practices presented can also be useful in detectingair leaks between interior zones of the building.5.3 Air leakage sites are often difficult to locate because airflows may be small under the prevailing weather conditions.Wind conditions can aid in air leakage detection by forcing airt
38、o enter a building; however, where air is exiting, the buildingenvelope construction may make observations difficult. Forthese reasons, forced pressurization or depressurization isstrongly recommended for those practices which require con-trolled flow direction.5.4 The techniques for air leakage sit
39、e detection covered inthese practices allow for a wide range of flexibility in thechoice of techniques that are best suited for detecting varioustypes of air leakage sites in specific situations.5.5 The infrared scanning technique for air leakage sitedetection has the advantage of rapid surveying ca
40、pability.Entire building exterior surfaces or inside wall surfaces can becovered with a single scan or a simple scanning action,provided there are no obscuring thermal effects from construc-tion features or incident solar radiation. The details of a specificair leakage site may then be probed more c
41、losely by focusingon the local area. Local leak detection is well addressed withthe smoke tracer, anemometer, sound detection, the bubbledetection and the tracer gas techniques, however these tech-niques are time consuming for large surfaces. The pressurizedor depressurized test chamber and smoke tr
42、acer or a depres-surized test chamber and leak detection liquid practices can beused in situations where depressurizing or pressurizing theentire envelope is impractical, such as is the case duringconstruction. Both of the practices enable the detection of verysmall leaks. To perform these practices
43、 requires that the airbarrier system be accessible.5.6 Complexity of building air leakage sites may diminishthe ability for detection. For example, using the sound detec-tion approach, sound may be absorbed in the tortuous paththrough the insulation. Air moving through such buildingleakage paths may
44、 lose some of its temperature differential andthus make thermographic detection difficult. The absence ofjet-like air flow at an air leakage site may make detection usingthe anemometer practice difficult.5.7 Stack effect in multistory commercial buildings cancause gravity dampers to stand open. Comp
45、uter-controlleddampers should be placed in normal and night modes to aid indetermining the conditions existing in the building. Sensitivepressure measurement equipment can be used for evaluatingpressure levels between floors and the exterior. Monitoringsystems in high-tech buildings can supply quali
46、tative data onpressure differences.6. Hazards6.1 Glass should not break at the pressure differencesnormally applied to the test structure. However, for addedsafety, adequate precautions such as the use of eye protectionshould be taken to protect the personnel. Occupant protectionmust also be conside
47、red.6.2 Since the test is conducted in the field, safety equipmentrequired for general field work also applies, such as safetyshoes, hard hats, etc.6.3 Because air-moving equipment may be involved inthese tests, provide a proper guard or cage to house the fan orblower and to prevent accidental acces
48、s to any moving parts ofthe equipment.6.4 Noise may be generated by the moving air from pres-surization systems. Therefore, make hearing protection avail-able to personnel who must be close to the noise source.6.5 Use of smoke tracers often produces pungent andcaustic fumes. Although extremely local
49、ized, precautionsshould be taken so that smoke inhalation is minimized andrespiratory protection is provided as required. See Note 1.NOTE 1Hands should be washed before eating if large quantities ofpungent or caustic fumes have been generated.6.6 Moving air from the pressurization devices can producecold drafts affecting plants, birds, wall-mounted pictures,papers on desks, etc. These sensitive items should be movedout of the air path. Prolonged depressurization testing mayresult in lower temperatures in critical areas of the building andmay adversely affect build
