AISK applies building physics to investigate how heat, air and moisture move through buildings and how design decisions may affect long term performance.
The main wall or roof build up does not tell the whole story. Window heads, cills, eaves, floor edges, retained structural elements, service penetrations and local reductions in insulation can create colder internal surfaces or additional heat loss.
AISK models the actual junction where sufficient information is available. The purpose is to understand whether the detail can be accepted, needs additional treatment or requires further investigation.
WUFI based hygrothermal assessment can help investigate constructions where steady state methods do not adequately represent moisture behaviour over time. This is particularly relevant to internally insulated solid walls, retained low permeability layers, timber interfaces and other moisture sensitive assemblies.
The analysis is used to test a technical question, not to replace engineering judgement. Depending on the commission, specialist analysis may be delivered through AISK's wider Associate network under a clearly defined scope.
Existing construction may be hidden, altered or inconsistent. Where analysis depends on uncertain dimensions, materials or moisture conditions, those assumptions are recorded and considered when interpreting the result.
Modelling should help manage uncertainty, not disguise it.
Insulation changes temperature profiles within the fabric and can affect where moisture accumulates and how readily a construction dries. Ventilation and internal humidity also influence surface conditions.
Building Physics therefore considers the interaction between fabric, moisture and ventilation where that interaction is relevant to the technical decision. It does not replace competent ventilation design.
Full case studies sit within Experience. These short examples show how the capability has been applied in practice.
An IWI design compared mineral wool with a vapour control layer against a wood fibre and lime approach. Five year WUFI modelling identified a different moisture response around embedded timber joists and changed the recommended insulation strategy. Both options could improve thermal performance, but they did not present the same long term moisture risk.
A retained bituminous roofing felt limited outward drying. WUFI modelling identified an unfavourable moisture accumulation trend in the original insulated roof proposal. The insulation thickness was retained, but the vapour and airtightness strategy was redesigned around an intelligent vapour control layer and service zone.
Where the main EWI thickness could not continue behind retained utility equipment, two dimensional thermal modelling assessed the actual constrained geometry and informed a local high performance insulation treatment rather than relying on a generic detail.
