The moisture distribution in wall-to-floor thermal bridges and its influence on mould growth

Moisture in the building envelopes increase the energy consumption of buildings and induce mould growth, which may be amplified within the area of thermal bridges due to their different hygrothermal properties and complex structures. In this study, we aimed to (1) reveal the moisture distribution in the typical thermal bridges (i.e., wall-to-floor thermal bridge, WFTB) and its surrounding area, and (2) investigate the mould growth in the building envelope that includes both WFTB and the main part of the wall. The transient numerical simulations that lasted for five years were performed to model the moisture distribution. Simulated results indicate that the moisture distribution presents significant seasonal and spatial differences due to the WFTB. The areas where moisture accumulates have a higher risk of mould growth. The thermal insulation layer laid on the exterior surface of WFTB can reduce the overall humidity while uneven moisture distribution, which may promote mould growth and water vapour condensation.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Title: UCL Open: Environment Preprint

Publisher: UCL Press

Publication date (Electronic preprint): 6 March 2022

Affiliations

[1 ] College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, China; Center of Balance Architecture, Zhejiang University, China; International Research Center for Green Building and Low-Carbon City, International Campus, Zhejiang University, Haining, China

Author notes

[* ]Email: gejian1@ 123456zju.edu.cn .

Author information

Yucong Xue https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0891-3448

Article

DOI: 10.14324/111.444/000131.v1

SO-VID: edd1768b-4d9c-4623-a9f1-06706f00c030

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

History

Date received : 6 March 2022

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); the Zhejiang Provincial Key R&D Program of China; the research project of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China No. 52178093; No. 2021C03147; K20210466

Data availability: The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

ScienceOpen disciplines: Architecture

Keywords: Coupled heat and moisture transfer,Wall-to-floor thermal bridge,Moisture distribution,Mould growth,Built environment

Comments

UCL Open: Environment Editorial Office wrote:

Date: 13 May 2022

Handling Editor: Dr Yasemin D. Aktas

Editorial decision: Request revision. The Handling Editor requested revisions; the article has been returned to the authors to make this revision.

2022-05-13 11:40 UTC

UCL Open: Environment Editorial Office wrote:

Date: 07 March 2022

Handling Editor: Dr Yasemin D. Aktas

This article is a preprint article and has not been peer-reviewed. It is under consideration following submission to UCL Open: Environment for open peer review.

This article is part of the 1st International Conference on Moisture in Buildings (ICMB21) Special Series

2022-03-08 14:14 UTC

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