Experimental study of infiltration of windows manufactured in Jordan

Abstract

This paper includes a description of a test rig designed and manufactured for the determination of infiltration through windows under simulated environmental conditions. It consists mainly of a chamber with facilities for mounting windows of different sizes on one of its sides. The chamber has a heating element for realistic simulation of room temperatures. The wind source is a large-diameter fan of 4.5 kW power. This test rig is used to study the infiltration characteristics of windows manufactured in Jordan. The study includes the effects of wind incident angles on infiltration rates. On the basis of the experimental results, the windows are classified as high and average quality windows. Infiltration prediction formulas for these two classes are derived. The measured infiltration rates are compared with those predicted by the derived formulas and with two additional published models. The results underscore the significance of testing of locally manufactured windows. They also include an application illustrating the effect of using any of the seven tested windows on infiltration costs in different regions of Jordan.