Conference Paper
Proceedings of BSA Conference 2024: Sixth Conference of IBPSA-Italy
Hygrothermal Analysis of Most Common Historical Slabs in Hungary
Hygrothermal Analysis of Most Common Historical Slabs in Hungary
Fanni Petresevics, Balázs NagyDOI: https://doi.org/10.13124/9788860462022_29Abstract: In Hungary and generally in Central Europe, a significant part of the existing building stock is constructed using traditional technologies that were widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries. Due to a lack of quality building materials, it was common practice to build structures using materials that were not specified and not following the prescribed layering scheme, so even a simple renovation project could typically be problematic. Moisture generated during the use of the building, condensation, and the initial construction moisture also have significant effects on building structures. In many cases, the reconstruction works are carried out due to a change of function, which can cause various external and internal moisture effects to affect the structure. To reduce the energy needs of the existing building stock, an increasing number of experts are starting to work on thermal and hygrothermal simulation of building structures. Numerical simulations of the distribution of humidity and temperature inside buildings can be used to determine the behavior of a building element during its life cycle, which can facilitate, among other things, the maintenance of architectural heritage and the design of renovations for energy efficiency. Within the framework of this research, detailed thermal and coupled heat and moisture transport simulations based on finite element methods were carried out to evaluate the energy performance of the most common traditional slab structures in Hungary. There were significant differences in both heat losses and thermal conductivity depending on whether only thermal or hygrothermal simulation was used and in general, hygrothermal simulations can provide much more accurate and detailed results. The simulations showed that none of the historic slab structures meet today's minimum energy and durability requirements, but with the suitable renovation method, heat losses for example, can be reduced by up to 25–60 %. Pages: 223 - 232 Paper: