Steel structural tie
It's that time of the year, yesterday morning I awoke to find several windows with condensation on them. At first view we thought that the double glazing had failed and condensation had formed within the glazing, but it turns out that it was on the outside of the window.
My partner asked why this had happened, simple I relied and went into my teaching mode to explain why condensation happens, after a while she simply asked if the window was broken, no.
As I sat wondering what to write about today, I thought why not launch into condensation, after all, it's properly one of the most powerful aspects of energy there is, and if not understood and controlled, it will destroy any building, sooner of later.
So where first, looking at the way air holds moisture, is the key and should be first on the agenda, when I worked for Dow as the insulation tech guy, it was the most miss understood concepts, and should be your first search, next the interaction of the components within the air we breath and temperature is next, and it's here I have always insisted my students spend a lot of time, because it's fundamental, understanding the way a slight drop in temperature can make water appear, and where. Its not mandatory, but if your in the mood, find a copy of Doultons laws of partial presure, it helps to understand what's going on.
Next on any list should be the air permiance of materials, the way certain materials will allow a lot of air to pass through them, or not, again this falls nicely into the interaction we need to understand. But at this point I think it's wise to start some research, buildDesk online have a very good article on the subject! So do Kingspan, and a read of BS: 5250 : 2006 plus BS EN ISO 13788 : 2002 are also a must, although don't be put of by the standard, it's a little heavy, but it's something that needs to be understood, in principle at least. Look at the local standards in your own country, but the physics will not alter, just the numbers used to calculate the risk.
This is a nice time to bring in the different numbers we use as part of the calculation, in the UK, we get external data from the met office, as part of tables in the British standard, and internal data from either the type of room or building, or specific data from the heating and vent engineer, often via the Architect.
Should you be doing your own calcs, my answer has always been, how can you check other work if you can't do it your self. Most insulation companies will do the calcs for you, I set up the original service for both Dow and Kingspan, and they are a great way to check the energy loss and also the point where condensation will occur, but at some point try a calc, it's not that hard, I used to make up a spreadsheet and do it that way, but failing this, the manufacturer's offer an excellent service, and usually ask the right questions.
As you might guess, I spent over 14 years in insulation, so should know the basics by now, but it has been a while since I pulled out a copy of the British standard, so I will try and find one at the local university.
I always think its a shame, you attend university for say three years, get your degree, and never go back, why, do you really think you have learned enough, I know not. Why not form an old boys club, within the university, try and get back say once a month to talk to lecturers, use the library, get your thoughts on a particular construction in order. Try using Facebook to sort this out, I can't see why any lecturer would not get involved, I certainly would, just ask.
This would add greatly to your CPD, and will almost certainly attract the better marks on your time, so what if the university charge for admission, they have to keep the library updated, and a small fee is nothing to the value it will create if you add a section on your CV, say current CPD, and list your membership of the university tech Alumni.
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