Air Barrier Materials, Components, Assemblies & Systems

Air Barrier Materials

Air barrier materials are defined by their air permeance. The air permeance of an air barrier material is defined by ABAA as being no greater than 0.02 L/(s•m²) @ 75 Pa pressure difference (0.004 cfm/ft² @ a pressure difference of 1.57 psf or 0.3 inches of water) when tested in accordance with ASTM E 2178 - unmodified. Keep in mind that air permeance is the amount of air that migrates through a material, whereas air leakage is the air that passes through holes or gaps.

The ASTM E 2178 Standard Test Method for the Air Permeance of Building Materials has provisions to test rigid materials, flexible materials and fluid applied materials. When flexible materials are tested, a metal mesh screen is used to provide support for the material being tested.

A 1 meter by 1 meter of exposed specimen of an air barrier material is tested in one of the two apparatus:

Test Apparatus for Flexible Air Barrier Materials

Test Apparatus for Rigid Air Barrier Materials

For a material to be listed on the ABAA website, the manufacturer shall complete the evaluation process outlined in the ABAA Process for Approval for Air Barrier Materials, Components and Assemblies May 2010 Version 2.1 FINAL document.

• ABAA Material Evaluation Application Form for Air Barrier Materials, Components & Assemblies
• Mutual Nondisclosure Agreement

Once a material has completed this process and the manufacturer has shown to ABAA that their specific product meets the criteria established by ABAA, the material is listed below and included in the ABAA Model Specifications.

ABAA has grouped the materials into the following Air Barrier Material Types.

• Self-Adhered Sheet
• Fluid Applied
  • Non Foaming Liquids
  • Spray Polyurethane Foam
• Mechanically Fastened
  • Boardstock
  • Film

ABAA Listed Materials

Air Barrier Materials which have Completed the ABAA Evaluation Process

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