Flexible Membrane Device for Building Air Leakage Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for testing air-leakage in buildings are costly, time-consuming, and ineffective for building components with irregular geometry, lacking a reliable and cost-efficient solution for creating temporary air-impermeable boundaries.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a flexible, air-impermeable element and a sealing element for airtight attachment to building surfaces, creating a temporary, substantially air-impermeable boundary. This device includes a pressure generator and pressure monitor to measure air leakage by inflating the flexible element and compensating for its known air leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If concrete or wooden components are constructed on building surfaces to test air-leakage, then reliable air permeability measurements can be obtained, but the cost and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable adhesive tapes and temporary flexible membranes instead of permanent concrete or wooden test components. These low-cost, single-use elements can be quickly applied and removed, eliminating the need for constructing and dismantling heavy test structures while maintaining measurement reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible membranes or sheets that can conform to irregular building surface geometries. These thin, adaptable films create temporary sealed chambers for air leakage testing without requiring rigid construction, enabling rapid deployment and removal while accommodating various surface shapes.
2Reliability
If concrete or wooden components are constructed on building surfaces to test air-leakage, then reliable air permeability measurements can be obtained, but the cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable adhesive tapes and temporary flexible membranes instead of permanent concrete or wooden test components. These low-cost, single-use elements can be quickly applied and removed, eliminating the need for constructing and dismantling heavy test structures while maintaining measurement reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a temporary replica or copy of the sealed test environment using flexible membranes and adhesive tapes, rather than constructing permanent test structures. This copying approach allows repeated testing on the same or different surfaces without the high cost of building new concrete or wooden components for each test.
3Productivity
If blower door test configuration is used to create pressure differences, then air leakage can be measured, but it cannot be used in building components with irregular geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible membranes or sheets that can conform to irregular building surface geometries. These thin, adaptable films create temporary sealed chambers for air leakage testing without requiring rigid construction, enabling rapid deployment and removal while accommodating various surface shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies sealing elements and flexible membranes specifically at the local test area around the building component, rather than requiring a complete building envelope seal as in traditional blower door tests. This localized approach allows testing of individual components with irregular geometries independently, improving both efficiency and adaptability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables reliable, cost-efficient, and time-effective air permeability measurements of building components, including those with irregular geometry, by creating a temporary air-impermeable boundary and compensating for the device's air leakage.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure generator configured for controllably inflating the flexible element to form an air-holding chamber
Implementation Method 2
a pressure generator configured for controllably inflating the flexible element
Implementation Method 3
a pressure monitor configured to measure air leakage from the air holding chamber
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a device for creating a temporary air-impermeable boundary, for example on a surface, such as a wall of a building. The present disclosure further relates to a system and a method for testing air-leakage of a building component by means of the device. The disclosure regards a device for creating a substantially air-impermeable interface on a building surface, comprising a flexible element made of an air impermeable material, and a sealing element for airtight attachment of the flexible element to the building surface. The present disclosure further relates to a system for measuring air leakage of a building component installed in a building surface, using this device.