scholarly journals Hygrothermal performance of internally insulated masonry walls with embedded wooden beam heads: a field study on the impact of hydrophobisation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012019
Author(s):  
E Vereecken ◽  
S Roels

Abstract Internal insulation remains often the only option to thermally upgrade massive masonry. Unfortunately, internal insulation can significantly change the wall’s hygrothermal performance, resulting in a higher risk on frost damage, wood rot of embedded beam heads, etc. The application of hydrophobisation is often put forward as a potential measure to avoid moisture problems, though more research on the impact of hydrophobisation is still required. Thereto, the current paper presents the results of a field study on the hygrothermal performance of internally insulated masonry with embedded wooden beam heads, exposed to wind-driven rain. Both a vapour open capillary active and a vapour tight insulation system are studied. Mainly the moisture conditions near the back of the wooden beam head are found to be influenced by hydrophobisation, which lowers the relative humidity. Closer to the masonry’s interior surface, the choice of the insulation system also influences the results. In case of a well-applied hydrophobisation, overall, the vapour tight system shows a better performance than the capillary active vapour open system. An exception to this is found for the first months after applying the hydrophobisation and the insulation system, where a longer drying period is needed in case of the vapour tight system.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012079
Author(s):  
N F Jensen ◽  
C Rode ◽  
E B Møller

Abstract This study investigated the hygrothermal performance of five insulation systems for internal retrofitting purposes. Focus was on the hygrothermal performance near partition brick walls compared to the middle of the wall. The setup comprised two insulated reefer containers with controlled indoor climate, reconfigured with several holes containing solid masonry walls with interior embedded wooden elements, an internal brick partition wall and different internal insulation systems, with and without exterior hydrophobisation. Relative humidity and temperature were measured over five years in the masonry/insulation interface and near the interior surface, in the centre of the test field and near the partition wall. In addition, calibrated numerical simulations were performed for further investigation of the thermal bridge effect. Findings for the masonry/insulation interface showed higher temperatures and lower relative humidity near the partition wall in comparison with the central part of the wall. Near the interior surface, measurements showed only minor differences between the two locations. The relative effect of the thermal bridge was smaller in the case of a high driving rain load on the exterior surfaces. The numerical simulations showed that the hygrothermal conditions were affected further away from the partition wall than what could be measured in the experimental setup.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174425912098874
Author(s):  
Nickolaj Feldt Jensen ◽  
Søren Peter Bjarløv ◽  
Carsten Rode ◽  
Birgitte Andersen ◽  
Eva B Møller

The study investigated the hygrothermal performance and risk of fungal growth in a phenolic foam system with a closed cell structure and a diffusion-open and capillary active lime-cork based insulating plaster, for internal retrofitting purposes. The setup comprised two 40-feet (12.2 m) insulated reefer container with controlled indoor climate, reconfigured with 24 holes (1 × 2 m each) containing solid masonry walls with embedded wooden elements on the interior side. Focus was on the conditions in the masonry/insulation interface and embedded wooden elements, and the performance of the two systems were compared to three diffusion-open insulation systems and one diffusion-tight. The effect of exterior hydrophobisation was also investigated. Relative humidity and temperature were measured in several locations in the test walls over 2½ years, and the risk of fungal growth was evaluated by on-site measurements and the VTT mould-growth model. The findings indicate that internally insulated walls with bare brick exterior surfaces performed poorly with high risk of fungal growth. The effect of exterior hydrophobisation was found to vary with the orientation and the installed insulation system, with a generally positive effect on walls facing south-west but limited effect for north-east. Furthermore, the more diffusion-tight insulation systems were found to perform better in combination with exterior hydrophobisation than the highly diffusion-open systems. The lime-cork insulating plaster showed high relative humidity and risk of moisture-induced problems. The on-site fungal tests showed no growth in the masonry/insulation interface inside the two insulation systems, probably due to high initial pH-value.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 317
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahab Abdul Fatah Alalwsy

The aim of this study is to reveals the Impact of managerial empowerment in creative thinking at the private sector banks of Kurdistan Region .the study depends on descriptive and analytical methodize using the practical manner. Study sample consists of employees in (13) banks of the private sector at Kurdistan Region, its amounted (132). a major study finding that there is a significant statistical impact and positive statistical significant correlation between  managerial empowerment and creative thinking ,by its factors, Originality ,Flexibility ,Fluency, Sensitivity to the problems and the ability to analyze .                                                                                                                     


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e043863
Author(s):  
Jingyuan Wang ◽  
Ke Tang ◽  
Kai Feng ◽  
Xin Lin ◽  
Weifeng Lv ◽  
...  

ObjectivesWe aim to assess the impact of temperature and relative humidity on the transmission of COVID-19 across communities after accounting for community-level factors such as demographics, socioeconomic status and human mobility status.DesignA retrospective cross-sectional regression analysis via the Fama-MacBeth procedure is adopted.SettingWe use the data for COVID-19 daily symptom-onset cases for 100 Chinese cities and COVID-19 daily confirmed cases for 1005 US counties.ParticipantsA total of 69 498 cases in China and 740 843 cases in the USA are used for calculating the effective reproductive numbers.Primary outcome measuresRegression analysis of the impact of temperature and relative humidity on the effective reproductive number (R value).ResultsStatistically significant negative correlations are found between temperature/relative humidity and the effective reproductive number (R value) in both China and the USA.ConclusionsHigher temperature and higher relative humidity potentially suppress the transmission of COVID-19. Specifically, an increase in temperature by 1°C is associated with a reduction in the R value of COVID-19 by 0.026 (95% CI (−0.0395 to −0.0125)) in China and by 0.020 (95% CI (−0.0311 to −0.0096)) in the USA; an increase in relative humidity by 1% is associated with a reduction in the R value by 0.0076 (95% CI (−0.0108 to −0.0045)) in China and by 0.0080 (95% CI (−0.0150 to −0.0010)) in the USA. Therefore, the potential impact of temperature/relative humidity on the effective reproductive number alone is not strong enough to stop the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Tiennot ◽  
Davide Iannuzzi ◽  
Erma Hermens

AbstractIn this investigation on the mechanical behaviour of paint films, we use a new ferrule-top nanoindentation protocol developed for cultural heritage studies to examine the impact of repeated relative humidity variations on the viscoelastic behaviour of paint films and their mechanical properties in different paint stratigraphies through the changes in their storage and loss moduli. We show that the moisture weathering impact on the micromechanics varies for each of these pigment-oil systems. Data from the nanoindentation protocol provide new insights into the evolution of the viscoelastic properties dsue to the impact of moisture weathering on paint films.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5063
Author(s):  
Katinka H. Evensen ◽  
Helena Nordh ◽  
Ramzi Hassan ◽  
Aslak Fyhri

Access to safe, green urban environments is important for quality of life in cities. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a safety-enhancing landscape design measure on visitors’ experiences in an urban park. Additionally, this paper combines the use of field and virtual reality (VR) experiments, contributing methodological insights into how to evaluate safety measures in green space management and research on perceived safety. In a field experiment (n = 266), we explored whether the height of a hedge along a pathway influenced perceived safety among users. The field study showed that cutting down the hedge improved the perceived prospect of the immediate surrounding areas for female users, which again made them feel safer in the park. We developed a VR experiment for an evening scenario in the same environment (n = 19) to supplement the field study and test the effect of the intervention further. The VR experiment also found a gender effect on perceived safety, with females reporting lower perceived safety, but no effect was shown for the height of the hedge. The results in this study show that environmental attributes such as perceived prospect and concealment should be considered in the design and management of urban green spaces. Additionally, this research demonstrates an approach to conducting field experiments to test the effects of actual design interventions and then further developing these experiments using VR technology. Further research on perceived safety in outdoor spaces is needed to make use of this combined method’s potential.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuyuki Miyamoto ◽  
Keisuke Suzuki ◽  
Hirokazu Ohtaki ◽  
Motoyasu Nakamura ◽  
Hiroki Yamaga ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Heatstroke is associated with exposure to high ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH), and an increased risk of organ damage or death. Previously proposed animal models of heatstroke disregard the impact of RH. Therefore, we aimed to establish and validate an animal model of heatstroke considering RH. To validate our model, we also examined the effect of hydration and investigated gene expression of cotransporter proteins in the intestinal membranes after heat exposure. Methods Mildly dehydrated adult male C57/BL6J mice were subjected to three AT conditions (37 °C, 41 °C, or 43 °C) at RH > 99% and monitored with WetBulb globe temperature (WBGT) for 1 h. The survival rate, body weight, core body temperature, blood parameters, and histologically confirmed tissue damage were evaluated to establish a mouse heatstroke model. Then, the mice received no treatment, water, or oral rehydration solution (ORS) before and after heat exposure; subsequent organ damage was compared using our model. Thereafter, we investigated cotransporter protein gene expressions in the intestinal membranes of mice that received no treatment, water, or ORS. Results The survival rates of mice exposed to ATs of 37 °C, 41 °C, and 43 °C were 100%, 83.3%, and 0%, respectively. From this result, we excluded AT43. Mice in the AT 41 °C group appeared to be more dehydrated than those in the AT 37 °C group. WBGT in the AT 41 °C group was > 44 °C; core body temperature in this group reached 41.3 ± 0.08 °C during heat exposure and decreased to 34.0 ± 0.18 °C, returning to baseline after 8 h which showed a biphasic thermal dysregulation response. The AT 41 °C group presented with greater hepatic, renal, and musculoskeletal damage than did the other groups. The impact of ORS on recovery was greater than that of water or no treatment. The administration of ORS with heat exposure increased cotransporter gene expression in the intestines and reduced heatstroke-related damage. Conclusions We developed a novel mouse heatstroke model that considered AT and RH. We found that ORS administration improved inadequate circulation and reduced tissue injury by increasing cotransporter gene expression in the intestines.


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