On Sept. 25-27, The 12th International Roofing and Waterproofing Conference will be held in Orlando, Fla. This conference will feature 27 reports about roofing- and waterproofing-related technical research from internationally recognized technical researchers from eight countries.
Following is some general information about the conference and papers that will be presented.
Background
NRCA began holding roofing technical conferences more than 30 years ago to promote advancement of roofing and waterproofing technology. Since 1977, these conferences have been held about every other year. Up to 1997, these conferences were co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
In 1999, NRCA and the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA) held The North American Conference on Roofing Technology in Toronto. In 2000, NRCA and Europe's International Waterproofing Association—now referred to as the Bitumen Waterproofing Association—held The XIth International Waterproofing and Roofing Congress in Florence, Italy.
The papers
The conference will feature presentations of original papers selected by a task force. Sixty abstracts were submitted, and 27 were accepted. Two of the 27 presentations will focus on specific NRCA-sponsored research projects.
Rene Dupuis, principal of Structural Research Inc., Middleton, Wis., and I will report on NRCA's research into the causes of cracking of fiberglass-reinforced asphalt shingles. The research includes physical testing of products from various shingle manufacturers before and after heat and moisture conditioning.
Jim Kirby, an NRCA senior director of technical services, and Bala Sockalingam, structural engineer for ENCON® Consultants Inc., Tulsa, Okla., will report on NRCA's analysis and testing of contractor-fabricated architectural metal panel roof assemblies. This work is resulting in NRCA obtaining a listing from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Inc. for specific architectural metal panel roof assemblies on which NRCA-contractor members can base their UL listings.
Also, Peter Kalinger, technical director of CRCA, will present a summary of CRCA's research about the effects of heating on asphalt. In this research, which was conducted at the National Research Council Canada's Institute for Research in Construction, samples of mopping asphalts were analyzed before and after heating. The results show some asphalts experience significant changes in physical properties with heating similar to that typically encountered in the field.
Other topics to be addressed at the conference include attic ventilation, bitumen fumes, coatings, leak detection, green roof systems, hail, roof and waterproofing system performance, polymer-modified membranes and roof reflectivity. A complete list of the papers' titles and authors is provided in the technical conference section of NRCA's Web site, www.nrca.net.
Other activities
In addition to the research presentations, the conference will include, for the first time, a limited number of tabletop exhibits. Because attendees will come from around the world, the exhibits will enable attendees to view products and technologies that may be new to them.
Also included in the conference are lunches and two evening receptions to allow presenters and attendees to interact.
Registration information
If you are interested in the science and technology associated with roofing and waterproofing, I encourage you to attend and actively take part in the conference.
Additional information and conference registration information is available in the technical conference section of NRCA's Web site or by contacting me at (847) 299-9070, Ext. 211, or mgraham@nrca.net.
Mark S. Graham is NRCA's associate executive director of technical services.
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