model

In buildings growing conditions for mould fungi can occur and cause fungus infestation. Thepossible danger for the occupants of dwellings lies in the production and spreading ofpathogens (disease causing agents). Therefore, consequent measures have to be taken to avoidhealth dangers that result from mould fungi in buildings. A strategy has to be set up thatfocuses on the growth conditions for mould fungi and also considers the complex transientprocesses of building physics.

The main objective of this study is to develop a thermal comfort (TC) prediction model suitable for Naturally Ventilated (NV) buildings located in hot and humid tropical climate. More than 1000 data were collected through extensive field survey in Singapore and Indonesia. The surveys finding based on the statistical analyses unveiled that people in the tropics have shown tolerance and different perception of TC than those in the temperate climate. Fuzzy logic concept is adopted to develop an appropriate TC model for tropical NV houses.

An Integrated Zonal Model was developed to predict the three-dimensional airflow andcontaminant concentration distributions in a room. This model integrated a zonal model withmaterial emission/sink models. This Integrated Zonal Model was applied to a mechanicallyventilated room to simulate airflow pattern and VOC concentration distributions. Results werecompared with prediction made by a CFD model. It was found that the Integrated ZonalModel could provide sufficiently reliable results and some global information regardingairflow pattern and VOC distributions within a room.

This study theoretically investigates the impact of air velocity and temperature on the sourceand sink behaviour of porous building materials, by applying the analytical model proposedin Part I. The impact of air velocity on the source and sink behaviour was investigated forvarious levels of material properties. The Reynolds number was varied from 102 to 105,which is equivalent to an air velocity from almost stagnant to 0.34 m/s when the material is4.5 m long.

Evaluating the VOC source and sink behaviour of porous materials is important for thedetermination of the VOC concentration levels in indoor air environment. The transfermechanisms involved in the source and sink behaviour are the same, but the mass transferis in the opposite direction (i.e. from material to air for source, and from air to material forsink). This paper presents a mass transfer model that can be used to predict both sourceand sink behaviour of porous materials.

This research is to develop a mass-transfer model for describing the emission of volatileorganic compounds (VOCs) from architectural coatings, which accounts for both surfaceevaporation and internal diffusion during the drying period. To apply this model, it isnecessary to know the evaporation and diffusion coefficients of VOC emitted from thecoating materials. An experimental method was, therefore, developed to determine boththe evaporation and diffusion coefficients for six aliphatic hydrocarbons and six aromatichydrocarbons from oil-based paint.

A new generally applicable model for calculating the surface emissions of VOCs (volatileorganic compounds) from the building materials and the VOC instantaneous distributions inthe materials is developed. Different from the mass transfer based models in the literature, thenew model does not neglect the mass transfer resistance through the air phase boundary layerand does not assume that the initial VOC concentration distribution C0 in building materials isuniform. And this paper provides an exact analytical solution for this model.

The thermal performance of a monozone building located in Lisbon is studied when night ventilation combined with radiative cooling is used in order to remove the heat from indoors. For simulating the thermal behaviour of the building, a commercial energy building software is used. The potential for radiative cooling in Lisbon, as well as the efficiency of the radiative cooling system were investigated previously. A validated numerical model is used in order to predict the temperature of the air at the outlet of the radiative system.

Research partners of 10 different countries are developing a computer tool in the framework of IEA ECBCS Annex 36, which helps decision makers to include the most energy-efficient and economic technical retrofit measures into the retrofit of their educational buildings.

Many recently developed energy-reducing strategies with respect to heat loads in residential interiorsincluded in simulation programs possess extensive capabilities in handling these loads (gains orsinks) for each zone - spatial unit designed for maintaining moist air thermodynamics there.We have taken up procedure, which was primarily dedicated to the influence of the sensor positionsof a room model.