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Proceedings of eSim 2022: 12th Conference of IBPSA-Canada

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Spatially stochastic geometry and material properties in hygrothermal models

Michael Gutland, Mario Santana Quintero, Scott Bucking
Carleton University, Canada

Abstract: Performing hygrothermal simulations on historic wall assemblies presents a number of challenges. There are two often overlooked parameters when performing these analyses: (1) The effect’s of decay has introduced many imperfections (cracks, mortar washout, failed membranes etc.) to the assembly; and (2) there is often a natural variance in the hygroscopic properties of historic building materials (and repair materials) meaning that some units may be more absorptive or vapour permeable than others for example. The positioning of materials with different properties are non-uniformally distributed throughout the wall. A spatially-stochastic approach to the building of geometry and assignment of material properties is proposed to be more suitable for this construction type. A series of hygrothermal models with stochastically assigned material properties was created given a known distribution of properties. The relative effect this had on simulation results was shown to be meaningful under drying, wetting and realistic boundary condition.
Keywords: heritage, masonry, stochastic, hygrothermal, building pathology
Paper:
esim2022_253