Heat & Moisture Simulation Workshop | Assess Risk & Prevent Interstitial Condensation

Is the building you are designing or retrofitting:

• traditionally built or a protected structure?
• to feature a solid wall or unventilated roof buildup?
• tall or in an area of strong winds?
• damp or considered problematic?
• to be fitted with internal wall insulation?
• to be made very airtight and highly insulated?
• to feature timber in vulnerable positions, like joist ends?

If you are concerned about interstitial condensation, mould or rot then you need to evaluate the risks with WUFI® Pro.

This year's ONLINE WUFI® Pro Workshop provides a practical, hands-on introduction to how one can use WUFI® Pro to carry out hygrothermal numerical simulation. WUFI® is the world-leading simulation software for understanding the risk of interstitial condensation, mould, rot and freeze-thaw in buildings. The training includes guided use of the software, and a 6-week temporary licence of the full version of the WUFI® Pro software, as well as access to support on the online WUFI® Forum for that period.

If would like to attend the training in person, we will be offering the same training in London from November 9-10th. 

Online course

The online WUFI® Pro Workshop training will run virtually over 2 days. We will use the ‘flipped classroom’ approach that Technological University Dublin have developed for the MSc in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design). The approach is particularly suited to teaching software applications.

The first introductory session will be on 20th June. Access will be provided to a supporting website, containing resources that include videoed lectures, WUFI® files, standards and a formative exercise to deepen the students’ learning.

The second webinar on 21st June will allow Daniel and Christian to provide feedback, answer questions and do live demonstrations.

Guidance & Assessment

Despite WUFI being available since 1995 and being validated to BS EN 15026 since that standard was first published in 2007, it was only in 2016 that BS 5250 - the Code of Practice for Control of Condensation in Buildings referred to BS EN 15026 and acknowledged transient hygrothermal simulation (as ‘full modelling’). The Code of Practice has recently been significantly re-thought and re-written. The 2021 edition of BS 5250 is underpinned by an ethos that is more up-to-date, more risk averse, more focused on capacity, systemic thinking and in-service conditions.

Since 2012 an increasingly coherent library of serious, peer-reviewed guides has been published to support appropriate specification, particularly of renovation of historic buildings. One of these Technical Paper 15, authored by J. Little, C. Ferraro and B. Arregi, published by Historic Environment Scotland) will be referred to alongside BS 5250 in the 2-day workshop. BS 5250 may be purchased here. Technical Paper 15 may be viewed or downloaded free (as pdf) here.

Despite these positive changes, most building material suppliers and many building design professionals still prefer to carry out hygrothermal risk assessment using the Glaser Method. Section D.3.5 BS EN 15026(2016) states the limitations of the Glaser method. ‘This method assumes moisture transfer is affected solely by diffusion; thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of materials are assumed constant; the effects of phase changes and the specific heat capacity of materials are ignored’.

The Glaser method cannot assess the impact of:

• imperfect construction (such as air leakage in internal air barrier and rain ingress at cracks)
• short-term weather events (like driving rain, sunshine and freeze thaw)
• orientation and exposure
• hygroscopic materials (like brick, plaster, timber and many insulants)
• construction moisture
• material characteristics that vary (depending on changes in moisture or temperature etc.)

What is the sense of assessment that excludes real world conditions and variability? WUFI® Pro can be used to assess all such conditions and more.

Topics discussed will include the vocabulary and fundamentals of building physics, practical examples with WUFI ® Pro, interpretation of results, the compliance context in the UK, and a review of completed case studies. Particular attention is paid in the course to how one carries out risk assessments when there is a lack of data on the hygrothermal characteristics of commonly used or existing building materials in the UK. Attendees will learn how to input building fabric assemblies, including orientation and location etc., and run simulations on different configurations, including their own projects.

Who should attend?

The workshop is open to all building professionals, e.g. architects, engineers, surveyors, insulation suppliers, system manufacturers, builders and anyone with a focus on fabric performance. No previous experience with the WUFI® Pro software is required.

There are now thousands of WUFI® Pro users around the world and rising fast.

Book now to join the growing ranks of WUFI® simulators. Our previous WUFI® Pro courses have sold out so book now to secure your place!

See a highlights video from the 2018 WUFI® Pro course on YouTube.

You can find the full programme here. 

Schedule: 

This event will be split over two live online sessions, as below. 

Live interactive sessions are at the time of event only, all delegates MUST attend at the time to complete the course. Please be available to login at 9am each day to ensure the training starts on time.

Registration:

Course fees include the online course tuition, digital course materials, and the full version of the WUFI® Pro software with a 6-week temporary licence, as well as access to support on the online WUFI® Forum for that period.

Participants must have a MS Windows-compatible laptop (on which they have administrator privileges) and will receive the full version of the WUFI® Pro software with a 6-week temporary licence.

About the Speakers

Dr. Christian Bludau, Dipl.-Ing., Senior Researcher - Fraunhofer IBP, Germany

Christian Bludau is a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Department for Hygrothermics, in Germany. 

Christian received his Diploma in Civil Engineering at the Technical
University of Munich, Germany in 2001. After his studies he worked as research assistant at the Institute for Building Materials and the Institute for Structural Engineering at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich.
 
He has worked as researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics since 2005 and from 2011 to 2015 he had held a lectureship for building physics / moisture control in buildings at the University of Applied Sciences in Augsburg. He finished his PHD with the topic "Special boundary conditions for the hygrothermal simulation of flat roofs in timber constructions" in 2021. His research interests focus on the hygrothermal conditions in wall and roof constructions with special interests in the thermal behaviour of flat roofs. Christian has been involved in many WUFI® seminars, lessons and workshops during the last few years.                                               

Dr Daniel Zirkelbach - Group Manager of Moisture control and construction in other climatic zones                                      

Dr Daniel Zirkelbach is the Group Manager of Moisture Control and Construction in other Climatic Zones at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Germany. Daniel Zirkelbach worked from 2001 to 2004 as
Scientist at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Building Physics (IBP) in Holzkirchen, Germany. Since 2004 he’s group manager and sine 2007 deputy head of the department Hygrothermics at IBP. Daniel Zirkelbach is responsible for the work fields moisture control, hygrothermal simulation and climate specific design. This includes the evaluation and optimization of building envelopes and materials for different outdoor climate conditions and operations as well as the development of the building component simulation software WUFI ®.

He is member of the technical approval board for exterior insulations (task groups A and B3) at the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt), the working group for DIN 4108-3 and the WTA task groups “Interior insulation systems” and “Hygrothermal performance of wooden structures”. Daniel Zirkelbach published more than 110 scientific articles in national and international journals, text books and conference proceedings and lectures Building Physics resp. Hygrothermics at the University for applied sciences in Munich.

What have delegates said about previous WUFI® Pro Workshops?

"Very good ... most useful was an overview of WUFI Pro, its function, versatility and application in many areas giving me a better appreciation of the software ... Enjoyed the case studies."

"Excellent ... useful tutorial and hands on training with software ... unbiased views & discussions on industry conventions and software."

“Very good mix of theory & worked examples – didn’t assume we already knew everything."

"Excellent ... Great volume of material to study, and the speaker’s expertise and experience."

This event is held in partnership with: