There is an increase in the use of hygrothermal models to complete the performance evaluation of walls assemblies, either in respect to design of new assembles or the retrofit of existing wall assemblies. To this end there are guides available in which is provided information on moisture loads to wall assemblies. This includes, for example, Criteria for Moisture-Control Design Analysis in Buildings given in ASHRAE 160, Assessment of moisture transfer by numerical simulation provided in EN 15026, and NRC’s “Guidelines for Design for Durability of the Building Envelope”. The designer of a new assembly or evaluator of an existing wall is tasked with having to determine what moisture loads to apply to the wall and where to apply this load within the assembly. Typically there is little or no information that is readily available regarding moisture loads to walls and thus the suggested hourly moisture load, as given in ASHRAE 160, is 1% by weight of the total driving rain load to the wall (i.e. kg/m2-hr). In this paper, a brief compendium of water entry test results derived from laboratory tests of various types of wall assemblies is provided from which estimates of moisture loads to different types of wall can be developed. Water entry test results are given of wood frame walls typically used in housing, but also metal-glass curtain walls and other commercial wall assemblies, where possible, in terms of driving loads to the wall.
A brief compendium of water entry results derived from laboratory tests of various types of wall assemblies