Marincioni, Valentina;
(2020)
A probabilistic approach for the moisture risk assessment of internally insulated solid walls.
Doctoral thesis (Eng.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The majority of the traditional building stock in the UK is made of solid brick walls. The energy efficient retrofit of such traditional buildings is one of the key measures to fulfil the Government pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050. Internal wall insulation is one of the possible measures to preserve the external appearance of a building while improving the energy efficiency of its walls. However, it can lead to moisture-related risks, such as excess moisture accumulation and mould growth. This thesis presents the development of a method of risk assessment for the retrofit of solid walls using internal wall insulation, which is faster but retains its accuracy in depicting the main moisture transfer and storage mechanisms occurring in an internally insulated solid wall in the UK and considers the relevant failure criteria. First, results from in-situ monitoring helped identifying the main moisture transfer and storage mechanisms occurring in internally insulated solid walls in the UK and the associated possible failure modes. Then, failure criteria and input data were identified from literature and their suitability for the assessment of moisture risks at the existing wall-insulation interface was analysed, with a particular focus on climate files and mould prediction models. Using the information gathered, predictive models were developed based on statistical methods. Finally, the developed predictive models were used for the risk assessment of an internally insulated wall. This thesis demonstrates that a fast probabilistic risk assessment using predictive models can provide valuable information to support the specification of appropriate internal wall insulation systems for the traditional building stock in the UK, considering the uncertainty and variability of inputs and suitable failure criteria.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Eng.D |
| Title: | A probabilistic approach for the moisture risk assessment of internally insulated solid walls |
| Event: | University College London |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10098519 |
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