Hygrothermal Performance of Vapour-Permeable Wall Membranes in Cooler Australian Climates: Comparative Modelling and Sensitivity Analysis

This research project was carried out under the auspices of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Australian Steel Innovation (IH200100005) and follows on from earlier experimental and numerical research that explored the thermal and hygric performance of walls with ventilated cavities [1]. The new research described below extends our earlier work, with an aim to: Simulate and compare the hygrothermal (heat and moisture) performance of case study walls with ‘Class 3’ reflective and ‘Class 4’ non-reflective membranes located in Australian NCC Climate Zones 6 and 7; and Investigate the sensitivity of such hygrothermal simulations to modelling assumptions