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

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            Abstract

            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
            UCL Open: Environment Preprint
            UCL Press
            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
            Author information
            https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0891-3448
            Article
            10.14324/111.444/000131.v1
            edd1768b-4d9c-4623-a9f1-06706f00c030

            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
            : 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

            The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
            Architecture
            Coupled heat and moisture transfer,Wall-to-floor thermal bridge,Moisture distribution,Mould growth,Built environment

            Comments

            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
            +1

            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
            +1

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