Hygrothermal Analysis of Interior Insulation for Renovation Projects

<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:120%;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">The general objective of this thesisis a further elaboration of the current knowledge related to the hygrothermalperformance of interior insulation systems applied to single leaf masonry walls.To that aim, this study is based on numerical as well as experimental research,and specific attention is paid to both standard insulation systems and moreinnovative (capillary active) insulation systems. The impact of steady-statewinter conditions on the hygrothermal performance of these different interiorinsulation systems is studied based on a hot box-cold box experiment. Next, thestudy is extended to varying climatic conditions, including wind-driven rain, forwhich numerical simulations are used. Both approaches analyse the potentialmoisture accumulation in the capillary active insulation system, whichdecreases the thermal performance. Additionally, the potential influence thismight have on the indoor environment is examined. To ensure the reliableapplicability of capillary active interior insulation systems, case-specificstudies are recommended. <span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:120%;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">As a second step, this study examineshow the hygrothermal performance of a thermal bridge is affected by interiorinsulation. To this purpose, the experiments first focus on the local surfacetemperature and the local heat transfer coefficient. To determine the localheat transfer coefficient, a methodology based on a combination of experimentaland numerical work is proposed. The results show that in cases of a junctionbetween an exterior and an interior wall, applying insulation at the interiorwall has a clear positive impact. Finally, the analysispays special attention to mould risk. It is shown that the different mouldgrowth models currently used in building simulation programmes tend to yieldwidely varying results. Therefore, this study offers an impulse to develop afurther evaluation of these mould growth models and offers some remarksconcerning experimental mould growth research. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}status: publishe