Collaborative Research: CAS: Examining carbon emission implications of the impact of extreme weather conditions on building material durability, aging, and deterioration

About This Grant

Building materials and building envelopes – the barrier separating a building’s interior from the environment – can be compromised by exposure to short, frequent, and intense cycles of freeze and thaw, dry and wet, and hot and cold. Impaired materials in an envelope can reduce a building’s operational energy performance and diminish its thermal insulation, structural integrity and moisture control capabilities. This project will use a combination of experiments and modeling to examine how and to what extent the degraded performance and integrity of building envelopes influence maintenance, repair needs, and heating and cooling demands of affected buildings. The research will bridge knowledge gaps associated with extreme weather-induced material degradation and sustainability of buildings. It will also inform utility providers to more accurately forecast energy demands and optimize power infrastructure for efficient supply-demand balance. By identifying the impact of extreme weather on building envelope performance and its subsequent effects on utility expenses, occupant comfort, and overall well-being of people, this project will help residential and commercial communities to remain sustainable and resilient during extreme temperature and humidity conditions. This project will examine the impacts of heat-moisture swings on envelope performance and life cycle emissions, which helps narrow the performance gap between simulated and measured energy use of buildings and enhances the fidelity of physics-based energy simulations to reflect extreme weather conditions. The study will 1) investigate extreme weather’s influence on the degradation of thermal, optical, and moisture control properties of building envelope via both lab tests and simulations; 2) examine the life cycle emissions impacts caused by deteriorated envelope performance over 55-years of building service life in current and future weather conditions; and 3) develop a novel methodology to integrate the space-time degradation of envelope performance into life cycle energy and carbon modeling. The research results offer architects, engineers, builders, general contractors, facility managers, material manufacturers, and policymakers a critical insight for informed decision-making in extreme weather strategies. The proposed in situ experiential and immersive virtual reality-based learning activities will equip all students with foundational knowledge essential for STEM education and careers to reinforce the United States building construction industry. The research training and mentoring activities for all students will yield long-term workforce benefits, thereby bolstering economic prosperity and technological leadership in the nation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.