Research Facilities

Exterior of the variable air leakage test chamber; Samples of duct sealed using a variety of tapes, mastic, and other products available in the marketplace.

Duct Laboratory

The Duct Laboratory contains two complete full-scale forced-air distribution systems instrumented for airflow and thermal testing. One system is connected to a large (30ft x 8ft x 8ft) variable air-leakage test chamber. This chamber can be used to account for building-envelope interactions with forced-air system performance.

The Duct Laboratory is used to develop air-flow measurement techniques for duct air leakage and register and air-handler flows in support of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards. LBNL and other researchers use the duct lab to develop reference measurement. Previous experimental work has also included the effects of duct and fitting flow resistance on system airflows.

Contacts:

  • Max Sherman
  • 1 Cyclotron Road
  • MS 90R3083
  • Berkeley, CA 94720
  • (510) 486-4022
  • Ian Walker
  • 1 Cyclotron Road
  • MS 90R3083
  • Berkeley, CA 94720
  • (510) 486-4692

Links: