English

Reports experimental investigation of moisture content of bathroom air during and after a shower. Describes test apparatus and procedure. Gives graphs of dry and wet bulb temperature, relative humidity and absolute humidity for various mechanical ventilation rates as functions of time. Gives results of measurements of tracer-gas decay rates for various mechanical ventilation rates. Presents theoretical model for calculations of moisture content in air in bathrooms and finds excellent agreement with experimental data.

Describes test apparatus and method of testing windows for air leakage. This standard has been adopted by the following countries :- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom. It is available in English, French or German.

Discusses ways of modifying distribution of stack effect through building by design and construction. Suggests many of the problems caused by stack effect could be alleviated byincreasing air tightness of building enclosure and interior separations. Discusses influence of mechanical ventilation systems on stack effect. Shows that pressurization does not eliminate stack effect but alters distribution of pressure differences.

Briefly reviews ways of ventilating buildings. Discusses control of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and control of odours and airborne particles. Concludes ventilation is an essential element in the design of a building and its services.

Discusses the use of a tracer to measure the dispersal of air pollutants. Suggest use of Freon-12 or sulphur hexafluoride as tracer. Describes release of tracer, collection of samples in bottles, concentration of sample and analysis in gas chromatograph. Gives results of field trial and concludes that test method is very promising for studying local air movements.

Outlines projects at the Division of Building Research to carry out extensive field observations and studies of loads particularly snow loads on roofs and wind pressures and suctions on walls of high-rise buildings. Describes major features of this work including observation methods and some of the results.

Reports an indoor/outdoor sampling program for NO, NO2 and CO in four private houses which had gas stoves. Pollutant gases were measured essentially simultaneously at three indoor locations and one outdoor location. Shows that indoor levels of NO and NO2are directly related to stove use. In some instances levels of NO2 and CO in the kitchen exceeded the air quality standards for these pollutants if data for the sampling periods were typicalof an entire year.

Describes method of estimating ventilation rate using organic vapours as tracer gases and ultra-violet absorption to measure concentration. Gives table of absorption of different vapours. Suggests estimation using a test paper. This method is less precise but requires a minimum of apparatus.

Briefly reviews methods of estimating infiltration rates in dwellings. Describes tracer gas method using methane. Gives results of measurements of air change rate made in houses in Minneapolis, Kansas and Denver. Concludes that technique works well for measuring residential infiltration.

Reports some results of field measurements of radon levels in apartments and houses and shows that summer measurements with high natural ventilation rates are generally lower than winter measurements. Suggests exhalation of radon from building materials can be studied by placing samples of material in closed vessels and following the growth of activity in the vessels. Shows that a ventilation rate of one air change per hour will lower the theoretical maximum level to 0.008 of the unventilated maximum value.