Numerical database application to building models

Increasing design standards within the building industry mean that some form of pre-construction testing of the building envelope is required. Expensive and time consuming field tests are becoming more impractical whereas the cost-effectiveness and greater flexibility of computer simulations will allow them to play an increasing role in building design. An expanding database of actual construction properties is needed to assist the use and advancement of existing models. The present work program of the International Energy Agency's Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre focuses on this problem with the development of an interactive numerical database alongside a comprehensive study of existing and future models. The model survey is presently investigating the capabilities of computer analysis techniques involving the combination of flow codes and heat transfer properties. The primary concerns of this database are air leakage properties, wind pressure distributions and climatic parameters.