Virtual Building Science Insight Presentations

The presentations will be live one-hour interactive sessions followed by a thirty-minute Q&A period.

Presented by Dr. Baskaran
Dr. Baskaran is a Group Leader at the National Research Council of Canada. At the NRC, he is researching the wind effects on building envelopes through experiments and computer modeling. As adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa, he supervises graduate students. As a professional engineer, he is a member of Roofing Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI), IIBEC, ASCE, SPRI, ICBEST, and CIB technical committees. He is a Research advisor to various Task Groups of the National Building Code of Canada and member of the wind load committee of American Society of Civil Engineers. He has authored and /or co-authored over 250 research articles and received over 25 awards, including Frank Lander award from Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, Carl Cash Award from ASTM and recently elevated as Fellow of IIBEC. Dr. Baskaran was recognized by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Diamond Jubilee medal for his contribution to the fellow Canadians.

 

CSA A123.21 is the “Standard Test Method for the Dynamic Wind Uplift Resistance of Membrane Roofing Systems”.  It has been used by the roofing community since 2004. Its origin goes back to 1994 when Special Interest Group for Dynamic Evaluation of Roofing System (SIGDERS) started to develop a dynamic load cycle testing procedure. CSA A123.21 is better replication of the true effect of wind on the roof, while also accounting for variations in roofing components and materials. Furthermore, the failure modes obtained from CSA A123.21 are similar to the field failure modes after high wind events.

This webinar will present a brief history of how CSA A123.21 has evolved through the years and how it is codified.  Local case studies pertinent to the presenting geographical region will be included. Applicability of building code and professional judgement of designers will be discussed.

System equivalency or performance enhancement is an important aspect of this design and eliminates the need for excessive and unnecessary testing. How to achieve system equivalency for various low slope membrane roofs will be discussed along with examples. This webinar will also concentrate on the required calibration process for labs to perform CSA A123.21 testing.

 

The Special Interest Group for Dynamic Evaluation of Roofing System (SIGDERS) at NRC has been evaluating roofing systems over the last two decades. SIGDERS’s generic precompetitive research benefiting all of its membership while also tackling the challenges encountered by the industry pertaining to all elements of the roofing system. SIGDERS operation is one of its kind in the world not only for its legacy of a long lasting R&D consortia but also the several impacts it created for the Roofing community.

This webinar will summarize the lessons learned throughout the years on how to optimize the wind resistance of low slope membrane roofing systems. By taking the “weakest link” concept of a resistance chain, the importance role that each element of a roofing system plays in the overall performance of the system will be demonstrated. Local case studies pertinent to the presenting geographical region will be included. Segment of the presentation will focus on the new NRC’s climate adaptation standard.

Think Tank Segment:

The Q&A period will welcome ideas, concerns or barriers that may exist in the Canadian roofing community. A pre-prepared survey will follow the presentation to obtain feedback from the participants to prepare our roofing industry for the next decade. Such collected data will be used to develop R&D frame work for the NRC. Thus for each location, the registration will be limited to a maximum of 75.

Presentations will be on Thursdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Local case studies pertinent to the presenting geographical region will be included along with local expert panel.
 

Presentations:

To register, please visit: Virtual Building Science Insight Webinar