Intensive research continues on vegetated roof mats

Canada is leading the way in improving the quality of green roofs with the first standard test method for wind uplift for vegetated roof assemblies (VRAs).

The new testing has been pushed forward by Xeroflor, inventor of the pre-grown vegetated mat, as well as a research consortium led by National Research Council of Canada (NRC) wind expert Das Baskaran.

Baskaran says it will be the world's first system implementing a pass/fail technical standard for VRAs.

The wind uplift tests are being conducted at the NRC's Dynamic Roofing Facility in Ottawa, Canada, using a chamber fan mechanism that simulates the dynamic effects of wind.

After lab testing, the results are benchmarked against real-world conditions.

"The next phase is to monitor vegetative cover on some actual buildings in the Greater Toronto Area under the influence of mother nature," said Baskaran.

Bonar Xeroflor, the licensor of the vegetated mat product, also have 25 in-house scientists to make sure Xeroflor remains on at the forefront of cutting edge research.

"Fifteen years ago, the late international wind expert Hans Joachim Gerhardt tested Xeroflor systems in Germany for wind uplift resistance," says Karen Liu, of Bonar Xeroflor.

"Now, we are testing our system with the NRC to ensure that it meets the wind design requirements in Canada."

Gerhardt's 1999 wind tunnel tests showed that Xeroflor's patented XF301 green roof system remains secure against wind uplift on 100-metre tall buildings.

Xeroflor's XF301 pre-vegetated mat is known for its lightweight and low maintenance features which makes it a popular green roof solution for older, even historical, buildings.

Original:OTTAWA