Research in Building Engineering

Current Research Areas

• Energy conservation in buildings
• Air infiltration and rain penetration of enclosure systems
• Durability of building materials
• Structural systems and components
• Performance of building envelope
• Indoor air quality and ventilation
• Acoustical performance of building elements
• Wind effects on buildings and building aerodynamics
• Performance of HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) components; thermal environment
• Decision analysis and computer-aided building design
• Development of expert systems and decision support systems for efficient planning, design, and construction of building projects
• Construction automation, and construction safety

The quality of research carried out is such that government and industry frequently award contracts to faculty members and teams in the department for product evaluation and development. This relationship has attracted significant external funding from a variety of sources. Each year, funds in the order of $1 million are used to develop special laboratory facilities, to supplement graduate fellowships and to improve services to industry.

Building Engineering Research Laboratories

• Wind Effects on Buildings
  • Building Aerodynamics
  • Weather Station
• Building Environment
  • Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation
• Performance of the Building Envelope and Materials
  • Building Envelope Performance
  • Building Envelope Diagnostic
  • Rain Penetration
  • Database for Building Envelope Research
• Building Materials
• Building Science
  • Acoustics
  • Solar Energy and Lighting
• Building Structures
• Computer-Aided Engineering
• Construction Engineering and Management
• Energy Conservation
• Thermal Environment and HVAC Control

A fabrication shop provides the necessary resources to prepare special research samples of equipment for use in research. Instrumentation and calibration facilities are also provided, and a two-story prototype laboratory is available to accommodate full-scale assemblies used in research projects.

The most recent realization is the Environmental Chamber in Building Envelope Performance Laboratory designed to test new concepts in the performance of the building envelope.