Influence of environmental factors on wall mold in underground buildings in Shenyang City, China

Abstract

This paper analyzes the influence of environmental factors on mold present on the inner surfaces of Shenyang’s underground walls. The basement of a 16-story student dormitory building in Shenyang City was selected. Through the collection and cultivation of wall molds, it is known that the molds grown in the underground area of Shenyang are mainly Penicillium and yeast. The non-steady-state wall heat-moisture coupling model and the biological heat-moisture model were selected to predict the growth of mold on the wall surface, and the mold growth index curve and mold spore moisture content were obtained. The correlation between mold growth rate and temperature and humidity was analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. The results show that the mold growth rate is most sensitive to humidity, and the Pearson correlation coefficient r fluctuates between 0.963 and 0.996. The mold growth rate reached its maximum peak at 34 °C. To prevent rapid mold growth, the humidity on the surface of the wall should be controlled below 84%. Based on this result, it is suggested that future research should focus on humidity as a method for controlling the growth of molds on underground walls.