Abstract

The necessity to understand and test water vapour transfer through wall systems has been recognized for over 70 years. Yet, while many aspects have been investigated and many different test methods have been used to determine permeability of materials there are many unanswered questions. This thesis work examines the applicability of steady state test methods in determining water vapour transmission through weather-resistive barriers (WRB). Presently there are different standards for North America, Europe, and Scandinavia, which are implemented for water vapour transmission testing. The test methods require many complex systems in order to be performed. The focus of this work is on determining a simplified and easy to perform test, enabling tests to be performed outside of a laboratory environment. The scope of this work evaluates two proposed test methods in this field of study. Both are used for measuring water vapour transmission through weather resistive membranes, and both are recently developed test methods. Four types of WRB are evaluated, namely two asphalt impregnated cellulose fibres and two polymeric fibres membranes