Étienne Julien-Distinction on the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Honour Table for the year 2023!

2 May 2023

Congratulations to Étienne Julien who has been awarded the distinction of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ Honour Table for the year 2023, underlining the excellence of his academic results in the Master’s program in Wood and Bio-based Materials Engineering. He was unanimously awarded excellent marks for his thesis by the jury.

Etienne Julien is a member of the NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Sustainable Wood Construction (CIRCERB), under the direction of Pierre Blanchet.

The CRMR warmly congratulates you for this remarkable achievement and we are lucky to have the privilege to count you among the team!

His project is on the « Characterization and analysis of the sealing plane of the second protection plane by mechanical assembly»

Project Summary

Energy consumption during the operational phase of buildings is one of the most significant contributors to climate change in the construction sector. As researchers strive to find innovations to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, the demands of the construction industry to reduce manufacturing and delivery times are real and must affect innovative construction methods. Of these methods, prefabrication can reduce time, rely on quality assurance, and lower costs. Nevertheless, to maximize envelope performance and on-site productivity, the development of joint sealing methods for precast components is essential. In this sense, the overall objective of this project was to design a self-sealing joint for prefabricated wood-frame walls (TPHW) to achieve high energy performance standards and accelerate construction on site. The sealing materials used for this joint were tested in the laboratory and their airtightness performance was compared to different sealants. A complete assembly using the self-sealing joint system was also tested in the laboratory and on the job site to evaluate its performance in terms of air tightness, thermal behavior, and assembly speed. These performances were compared to those generated by a conventional lightweight wood frame assembly. Of the materials studied, butyl tape showed the most airtight results, allowing the developed assembly to be more airtight than the conventional solution. When properly placed, this assembly also limits thermal disturbances during wind pressure. Although not as fast to assemble, this system nevertheless offers a more finished wall construction than traditional prefabricated walls. For a single-family construction project, the system developed would reduce the construction time. Relying on a panel solution, this system would also reduce transportation costs compared to modular solutions. A rare contribution to research in this field, this project is part of an innovative approach to energy performance and productivity improvement in the prefabricated wood construction sector.


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