Biclimatic chamber (two coupled climate chambers)

General description:

A system consisting of two coupled Excal climate chambers, allowing different and independent temperature and relative humidity conditions to be applied simultaneously to either side of the same test specimen: one chamber simulates the indoor environment of a building, while the other simulates outdoor conditions representative of the Quebec climate. Each chamber has a test volume of 1,000 L (1,000 × 1,000 × 1,000 mm). The two chambers are separated by a custom-built aluminum profile frame mounted on casters and featuring an 800 × 800 mm opening to accommodate the sample. The outer chamber is fixed to the floor, while the inner chamber moves along guide rails, providing access to the sample for installation and inspection.

Applications:

Accelerated aging and climatic cycling tests; evaluation of the hygrothermal behavior of wall sections, glazing, and building systems; verification of the airtightness of joints and assemblies; simultaneous simulation of indoor and outdoor conditions representative of the northern climate; instrumentation and monitoring of samples during testing. The two chambers can also be decoupled and used separately as conventional climate chambers.

Characteristics:

• Two Excal chambers, each with a volume of 1,000 L (1,000 × 1,000 × 1,000 mm), for a total test volume of 2,000 L; 800 × 800 mm samples inserted into the interface frame
• Temperature range: −30 to +180 °C for the indoor climate chamber (Excal 10013-HA) and −45 to +180 °C for the outdoor climate chamber (Excal 10015-HE)
• Average temperature change rate (IEC 60068-3-5): 4.5 °C/min during heating and 2.5 °C/min during cooling; control stability of ±1 to ±0.3 °C and uniformity of ±0.5 to ±1.8 °C
• Relative humidity from 10% to 98% between +10 and +90 °C (limited by a dew point of +6 °C), control stability from ±1% to ±3%; capacitive sensors for measurement and control
• Spirale 3 control via touchscreen Panel PC in master-slave mode: synchronized or asynchronous setpoints, recording of one measurement per second, report generation and export in native format or to a spreadsheet, remote control
• Internal enclosures with vertical airflow and variable-speed fan drives; option to add a data acquisition unit (thermocouples, PT100, 4–20 mA or 0–10 V sensors)