Location: Blacksburg, VA
Web site: www.arch.vt.edu
Virginia Center for Housing Research consults on housing issues with the General Assembly, federal, state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, private industry, and other colleges and universities of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Special Projects:
Virginia Center for Housing Research participated in this PATH University Project:
Industrialization of the Construction Process
VCHR participated in these projects funded by the National Science Foundation:
2002- Whole House Design Through the Application of Multi-functional Pre-Cast Panels
The objectives of the proposed research include the development of: (1) conceptual plans for manufacturing systems for MPP systems; (2) methods for on-site assembly; (3) designs for embedded energy collection and distribution systems; (4) detailed estimates of the effect of MPP construction on the cost of ownership; and (5) implementation plans for MPP technology.
2001- Advanced Replacements for Mechanical Fastners in Housing Construction for High Wind Zones
This research proposes to implement an innovative assembly process in the construction industry through the development of materials, design, and application databases. The assembly process will be based on generic acrylic foam tapes, and the test bed will be shear walls and diaphragms in light-frame construction for wind-critical areas, a very large market segment.
2001- Designing Panelized Systems to Minimize Impact on Indoor Air Quality in Tightly Sealed Buildings
This research will characterize emissions from the individual layers used in the fabrication of SIPs; independently measure the model parameters for the different material layers; validate the single-layer model by comparing predicted emissions to observations obtained in experimental chamber studies; extend the single-layer model to a composite multi-layer model with boundary conditions appropriate for SIPs construction; validate the multi-layer emissions model for SIPs, with and without the presence of an installed barrier material; and use the multi-layer model to optimize the position and properties of barrier materials that can be used to significantly reduce emissions from other advanced panel systems.
