An Investigation on the Critical Degree of Saturation of Half Brick Samples via the Frost Dilatometry Methodology By Javeriya Hasan Master of Building Science in the Program of Building Science 2019 An assessment of freeze-thaw deterioration of bricks necessitates predicting the moisture content at which frost decay occurs, whereby this is called the critical degree of saturation (Scrit). The study involved performing frost dilatometry testing of eight half-brick samples. Strains along the x, y and z axes of samples were measured, whereby the results show that trends of frost decay were non-uniform along certain axes. However, along the z-axis, brick sample types 305-EB4, 295AF4, 297-EB2 showed Scrit values of 81%, 90% and 77.5% respectively, which were comparable to the slices’ Scrit, which were at 84.4%, 88.1% and 77.5% respectively. Similarly, for brick sample type 349-ER1, the Scrit at its x-axis was 92%, which was near to its slice’s Scrit, at 87.3%. Sample types 60 and 295-F2 showed differences as high as 17% in their Scrit values, at 56% and 88% respectively, compared to their slices, which were at 73.4% and 78.4%.

Rapid urbanization, the increasing effects of climate change, the need to reduce fossil fuels’ dependency as well as to improve cities’ resiliency are accelerating the shift towards renewable energy. Additionally, unnecessary complex roof morphologies that are often pushed by suburban divisions’ developers to make houses look more “opulent” and appealing to homebuyers, also impede the smooth integration of active solar technologies. To address this, and to respond to increasing homebuyers’ interest in renewable energy, this study looks to demonstrate how relatively minor design changes could affect the potential for solar generation and create ‘solar ready’ homes without compromising on the aesthetic of the roof morphologies in styles expected by homebuyers. It looked at six different roof morphological forms ranging from small to large houses, a common suburban house archetype in Canada. The roof configurations were remodelled to remove ‘fake dormers’, minimise ridges and valleys, etc. This process helped maximize the south, south-east, south-west, east and west facing surfaces. The results show that these changes could have a significant impact on the magnitude of solar power generation. The power output from a remodelled neighborhood at an optimized orientation exceeded the community’s electricity demand by 24%.

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