| Title |
Development of a Probabilistic Performance Indicator for Mold Growth in Buildings |
| Keywords |
Mold ; Uncertainty Analysis ; Indoor Air Quality ; Building Simulation |
| Abstract |
The paper presents a development of a new performance indicator for analyzing mold growth risk in buildings, based on a mixed simulation approach and uncertainty analysis in relevant building parameters. This new approach requires a reliable aggregation method to arrive at quantified mold growth risk and the extension of standard simulation capacity to account for additional mechanisms of the mold phenomenon. It also implicates uncertainty in building parameters, including natural variation of hygrothermal properties in building materials, deviation between "as-designed" values, and the actual "in-use" values of the parameters.
The application of the developed mold risk indicator (MRI) is reported in an office building case study located Miami. The MRI indicates that a reliable distribution of mold growth risk may result from the uncertainty analysis, as the actual mold growth occurrence could be related to the established mold risk in the case. The new approach thus is capable of explaining unexpected and non-deterministic mold growth occurrences. Moreover, it identifies the parameters that have dominant effects on the increase in mold risk. Identification of these parameters leads to recommendations and guidelines for designers and engineers to guarantee better building performance. |