A Coupled Heat, Moisture and Pollutants Transport Model for Predicting VOC Emissions from Building Materials under Dynamic Conditions of Temperature and Relative Humidity

Abstract : In this paper a coupled heat, moisture and pollutants transport model (HMCOV model) is presented for predicting the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions from building materials. This physical model takes into account the effect of moisture and temperature in building materials on the prediction of the pollutants emissions, which can be used to simulate VOC emissions from materials under real hygrothermal dynamic conditions. The developed model is implemented in the environment SPARK (Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel) which is suited to complex problems using finite difference technique with an implicit scheme. The model is then validated by comparing the numerical results with the experimental ones found in the literature and a good agreement is obtained. The numerical model proposed in this paper is very useful for the building design optimization because it can be used for a fast estimation of the hygrothermal comfort and pollutant levels in a room under dynamic conditions. \textcopyright 2018 15th Conference of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2018. All rights reserved.