Sorption

In a previous study, a whole room IAQ model consisting of multi-phase emission/sorption model for wall materials and room volume mass balance model catering for practical ventilation schemes was developed. The interactions between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and building materials composing different building components can thus be modeled based on fundamental mass transfer theories. In the present study, the effects of various ventilation strategies and outdoor source on the indoor gas phase VOC concentration are investigated by simulating different building scenarios.

A physically based diffusion model is used to evaluate the sink effect of diffusion-controlled indoor materials and to predict the transient contaminant concentration in indoor air in response to several time-varying contaminant sources. For simplicity, it is assumed that the predominant indoor material is a homogeneous slab, initially free of contaminant, and that the air within the room is well mixed.