Inside Buildings Research Articles

Particulate Matter Concentration in Selected Facilities as an Indicator of Exposure to Their Service Activities.

In recent years, the correlation between the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere and inside buildings has been reported as high. The air inside living quarters and public utility buildings or the interiors of public transport vehicles, as well as the relationship between the internal and external sources of particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants, have underwent sufficient research. On the other hand, non-production rooms, i.e., offices, restaurants, beauty salons, etc. remain very poorly recognized in this respect. For the above reasons, the aim of this work is to determine the difference in the total dust (TSP) and respirable PM (PM4) concentrations in selected rooms, i.e., offices and beauty centers, in relation to their outdoor concentrations. They were measured at six locations in accordance with the standard for the conditions at workplaces by means of PM aspirators. Indoor concentrations of TSP and PM4 were much higher than those in the external surroundings of the facilities. There were no significant relationships between the TSP and PM4 concentrations inside and outside tested rooms. Although the characteristic of the internal PM essentially depends on the characteristics of the external PM migrating to the interior of the premises, considering some types of non-production premises, internal emissions fundamentally changed the characteristics of PM.

INFILTRACIÓN EN UN EDIFICO COMPLEJO

The air infiltration through building envelope mainly depends on the doors and windows tightness considered by means of the corresponding effective leakage areas and the pressure difference between the building exterior and interior. Although the standards provide simple methods to estimate the parameters that control the air movement, significant differences in the volumetric flow of fresh air are observed between the standardized and the most accurate traditional methods. Our aim is to evaluate the infiltration in a two-storey building with a large central atrium during the typical day in January by considering all the relevant parameters. The analytical result is incorporated to the numerical simulation with EnergyPlus to determine the internal temperature evolution that is sensitive to the air intake. Simulation results are compared with in-situ measurements. It is found that the air infiltration rate calculated from the standardized procedure only enables the internal temperature evolution to be reproduced with a substantial adjustment of the design air infiltration rate. The methodology developed is useful to calculate the infiltration in buildings under actual use conditions and assess the air leakage when measurements are not available.

Application of wireless network communication technology in interior decoration system and Commercialization of hospital buildings

In view of the low accuracy of signal perception caused by unbalanced task allocation of high-rise hospital building interior decoration system, a high-rise building interior decoration system is designed based on wireless network communication technology. Hardware part: the terminal node based on STM32 MCU is connected with the environment sensor, and the BC35-GNB-IOT communication module is set to ensure the anti-interference of the link. In the software part, the angular power spectrum is used to establish the indoor communication scene classification model of high-rise hospital buildings, the task is divided into several sub-tasks according to the time complexity, and the wireless network is used to realize the dynamic scheduling of tasks. The indoor environment sensing algorithm is designed to detect the performance of cyclostationary signals. It shows that the sensing accuracy of the system designed in this paper is higher than that of the system without a wireless network, which has good robustness and can improve the service quality of indoor environmental monitoring.

Numerical analysis of a combined heat pump ice energy storage system without solar benefit – Analytical validation and comparison with long term experimental data over one year

Ice energy storage systems, as interface between the time-shifted occurring heat and cold demand of nonresidential buildings, are a promising technology to use waste heat arising inside buildings. Several studies examine the suitability for residential buildings in combination with solar thermal power. However, investigations of ice energy storage systems for nonresidential buildings to use waste heat instead of solar benefit are missing. In order to design, evaluate and optimize such systems, analysis of its behavior by means of variational calculations are essential, which requires an adaptable model that is thoroughly validated. Therefore, for the first time, a detailed numerical model of such a system is developed, validated and compared to long term measured data of a 500 m3 setup. The storage at the University of Bayreuth acts as heat source for a heat pump and is regenerated by the cooling water network delivering the waste heat, which can also be used as a direct source for the heat pump. The Stefan problem is utilized to conduct the validation and, moreover, a comparison with 13 months of measured data shows good agreement. In the future, the model will be used to identify favorable procedures for implementing, optimizing and controlling ice energy storage systems in nonresidential buildings with waste heat recovery capability.

Volatile components analysis of Camellia oleifera shells and related products based on HS-SPME-GC-MS

The headspace-solid phase microextraction method with the off-flavor database was used to establish odor components in Camellia oleifera shells (COS) and the corresponding particleboard (PB). The concentration of the odor components remarkably varied in fresh COS compared with dry shell and particleboard, owing to the reaction of volatile aroma compounds during drying and hot pressing. Relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis was used to compare the key and characteristic aroma components of different products. There were four key aroma compounds found in fresh COS, which were m-cresol, p-cresol, borneol, and 2,3-xylenol; 16 found in dry COS, including 2-nonenal, n-decanal, geraniol, borneol, etc.; and 13 found in COS PB, including n-decanal, 2-nonenal, vanillin, isoeugenol, etc. Among them, m-cresol, p-cresol, 2-nonenal, n-decanal and 2,3-xylenol may be the main difference in fresh COS with dry COS and COS PB. The spatial distribution region of principal component analysis reflects the variances among samples. During the drying of the COS, the gradual peroxidation or reduction of fatty acids through lipoxygenases affect the content of the aroma substances, which leads to the difference of the compounds among samples. This study helps to realize the utilization of Camellia oleifera shells as a new interior decoration and building material by providing basic information on aroma substances.

Identifikasi Desain Ruang dan Fasilitas Kantor Sebagai Upaya Pencegahan Penyebaran Virus Covid-19

Title: Identification of Office Room and Facility Designs as an Effort to Prevent the Spread of the Covid-19 Virus; Case Study of an Architectural and Interior Consulting Office in Bali During the post-pandemic period, many companies have been re-implemented work from the office. Due to this reason, it is necessary to identify whether the design of office space and facilities has implemented standards for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study aims to determine the condition of the office space design and facilities in Bali to generate a design according to the standards for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method and takes a case study of Bali's architectural and interior consultant building. The analysis is carried out by determining several variables and research indicators referring to the Decree of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number HK.01.07/MENKES/328/2020 and supported by some research results. The results show most of these offices being designed according to the standards for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, such as the layout of the tables/chairs is at a distance of at least 1 meter, the signage designs and accessories guide for workers to adopt a healthy and clean lifestyle, providing dominant natural lighting and provision of the sink, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant. In general, this study shows that the office manager has tried to follow the government's recommendations to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, despite requiring further adaptation to this new habit pattern.

High-Throughput Remote Sensing of Vertical Green Living Walls (VGWs) in Workplaces

Vertical green living walls (VGWs)—growing plants on vertical walls inside or outside buildings—have been suggested as a nature-based solution to improve air quality and comfort in modern cities. However, as with other greenery systems (e.g., agriculture), managing VGW systems requires adequate temporal and spatial monitoring of the plants as well as the surrounding environment. Remote sensing cameras and small, low-cost sensors have become increasingly valuable for conventional vegetation monitoring; nevertheless, they have rarely been used in VGWs. In this descriptive paper, we present a first-of-its-kind remote sensing high-throughput monitoring system in a VGW workplace. The system includes low- and high-cost sensors, thermal and hyperspectral remote sensing cameras, and in situ gas-exchange measurements. In addition, air temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide concentrations are constantly monitored in the operating workplace room (scientific computer lab) where the VGW is established, while data are continuously streamed online to an analytical and visualization web application. Artificial Intelligence is used to automatically monitor changes across the living wall. Preliminary results of our unique monitoring system are presented under actual working room conditions while discussing future directions and potential applications of such a high-throughput remote sensing VGW system.

Comfort Analysis of Hafnium (Hf) Doped ZnO Coated Self-Cleaning Glazing for Energy-Efficient Fenestration Application.

To attain a comfortable building interior, building windows play a crucial role. Because of the transparent nature of the window, it allows heat loss and gain and daylight. Thus, they are one of the most crucial parts of the building envelope that have a significant contribution to the overall building energy consumption. The presence of dust particles on a window can change the entering light spectrum and creates viewing issues. Thus, self-cleaning glazing is now one of the most interesting research topics. However, aside from the self-cleaning properties, there are other properties that are nominated as glazing factors and are imperative for considering self-cleaning glazing materials. In this work, for the first time, Hf-doped ZnO was investigated as self-cleaning glazing and its glazing factors were evaluated. These outcomes show that the various percentages of ZnO doping with Hf improved the glazing factors, making it a suitable glazing candidate for the cold-dominated climate.

Climate Change and Its Effects on Indoor Pests (Insect and Fungi) in Museums

Climate change not only affects the biodiversity of natural habitats, but also the flora and fauna within cities. An increase in average temperature and changing precipitation, but additionally extreme weather events with heat waves and flooding, are forecast. The climate in our cities and, thus, also inside buildings is influenced by the changing outdoor climate and urban heat islands. A further challenge to ecosystems is the introduction of new species (neobiota). If these species are pests, they can cause damage to stored products and materials. Much cultural heritage is within buildings, so changes in the indoor climate also affect pests (insect and fungi) within the museums, storage depositories, libraries, and historic properties. This paper reviews the literature and presents an overview of these complex interactions between the outdoor climate, indoor climate, and pests in museums. Recent studies have examined the direct impact of climate on buildings and collections. The warming of indoor climates and an increased frequency or intensity of extreme weather events are two important drivers affecting indoor pests such as insects and fungi, which can severely damage collections. Increases in activity and new species are found, e.g., the tropical grey silverfish Ctenolepisma longicaudatum has been present in many museums in recent years benefitting from increased indoor temperatures.

Investigation of the effects of mechanical and underfloor heating systems on the COVID-19 viruses distribution.

Investigation of the spread of pollutants and especially pathogenic particles in the interior of today's buildings has become an integral part of the design of such buildings. When the Coronavirus is prevalent in the world, it is necessary to pay attention to the spread of the virus in the interior of residential apartments. In the present study, the Coronavirus particles emitted from the sneezing of a sick person in the bedroom of a residential apartment were tracked. Meanwhile, the degree of exposure of a mannequin that has been placed in the living room playing the role of a healthy person is examined. In this research, a segregated solution of steady-state flow and an unsteady particle solution have been separately used: a suitable, accurate, and optimal solution in particle studies. A comparison of the results shows that underfloor heating creates a healthier space around the healthy person's respiratory system, but instead, we will see more polluted areas around the sick person. According to the PRE results, the PRE value for a mechanical heating system is higher than a floor heating system. Therefore, it is recommended to use mechanical heating system in the apartments where the person with COVID-19 is hospitalized.

Super-amphiphobic coatings with sub-ambient daytime radiative cooling—Part 2: Cooling effect under real conditions

The cooling effect of a super-amphiphobic self-cleaning radiative cooling coating (RC coating) on various substrates was systematically studied under real working conditions and compared with that of conventional cool white coatings. Under direct sunlight, the surface temperature of the RC coatings was always below the ambient air temperature, even up to 12.9 °C on concrete, whereas that of the conventional cool white coatings on concrete reached 4.1 °C above the ambient air temperature. When the RC coatings were applied to industrial facilities such as carbon-steel-based substation cabinets, the temperatures of the coated ceiling surface and interior remained below the ambient temperature, yielding an interior temperature reduction of 13.7 °C relative to the temperature of an unpainted substation cabinet. When applied to outdoor living facilities, including safety helmets, sunshades, and Roman tents with open and closed curtains, the RC coatings could greatly improve the thermal comfort either by reducing the air temperature beneath the open facilities or by significantly lowering the interior temperature of the closed space of the living supplies. Upon application to concrete buildings, the RC coatings reduced the temperatures of the concrete surface, roof surface, and room interior by 25.7, 12.9, and 11.5 °C below the ambient air temperature, respectively, the decrease in the latter two being 9.8 and 4.8 °C, respectively, relative to the buildings coated with 0.88-solar-reflectance conventional cool white coatings. The measured sub-ambient cooling effect agreed with the theoretical prediction. In summary, RC coatings have wide application prospects in cooling energy conservation and emission reduction. Superamphiphobic self-cleaning radiative cooling coatings were applied to industrial and basic facilities, outdoor living supplies and real buildings. The coating surface temperatures over different basements were below ambient air temperature day and night. The air temperatures beneath the coated roofs/ceilings of facilities in open and closed environments were at least 2.5 °C and 9.0 °C lower than those beneath the conventional white facilities in open and closed environments, respectively. • The subambient daytime radiative cooling coatings were applied in various fields. • The coating greatly reduced outdoor products' surface and interior temperature. • The coating enabled the metals' surface temperature to be below that of the ambient. • The coating greatly reduced concrete buildings' surface and interior temperature.

Solar concentrating and redirecting systems for application in an agricultural construction

This work deals with the design and evaluation of a concentrator-luminoduct system for daylighting. A concentrator with a truncated cone profile was designed to capture, transfer and diffuse sunlight, which was concentrated and transported by reflection along the walls of the system and finally projected to the interior of an agricultural building. The illuminance achieved by the system with and without concentration was compared and a significant difference in illumination levels was found. The concentrator obtained concentration factors between 1.7 and 3.6. The critical aspects that determined the concentration of natural light were the angle of acceptance (45.68º), the orientation (45º and 90º) and the reflectance of the material used (95%), in addition, it was possible to reduce the dimensions of these systems, conserving the illuminance. It was proven that this system increased the illumination of the interior space where the light did not reach naturally, improving the illuminance levels (300-500 lx), according to CIE (Commission Internationale l'Eclarige). It was demonstrated that the system represents a viable and adaptable solution for naturally illuminating buildings.

EFFECT OF DAILY LIGHT INTEGRAL ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INDOOR PLANTS IN VERTICAL GARDEN

Performance and appearance of vertical gardens are affected by plant quality, which is why creating conditions for their proper growth is crucial. Insufficient amount of light inside buildings significantly limits plant development, especially in the autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere. The objective of this study was to investigate physiological and morphological quality of plant species, Asplenium, Chlorophytum and Philodendron, in an indoor vertical garden exposed to two levels of daily light integral (DLI). Higher DLI level (1.1-1.7 mol m−2 day‑1) improved plant diameter, height, leaf length and width, leaf area, total area of leaf blades, dry weight, and carotenoid content, however did not affected leaf fresh weight and leaf number. Chlorophytum and Asplenium were particularly responsive to natural light supplementation and were distinguished by the best growth habit and compactness.

Methodology to Determine Energy Efficiency Strategies in Buildings Sited in Tropical Climatic Zones; Case Study, Buildings of the Tertiary Sector in the Dominican Republic

The application of energy-efficiency strategies in buildings is a hot topic around the world; in some countries, there are regulations with more or less degree of compliance, but in most countries located in the tropical zone, there are no regulations, and it is not easy to transfer regulations of countries outside of tropical zone. For countries located in tropical zones, the implementation of strategies to reduce the heat flow from outside to inside buildings is a key point. As a case study, the Dominican Republic (DR) was chosen, and during 2020, an analysis focusing on buildings of the tertiary level was carried out with the goal of using scientific methodology focused on tropical climates that allows for a significant reduction in energy consumption by implementing Energy Efficiency Strategies (EESs) that are available, with minimal intrusion into the building and low cost. The study includes, as parts of the proposed methodology, the characterization of building parks, including the climatic zonification of the country, an in-depth study of the building typologies in DR, and a massive survey around the country about the technical characteristics of air conditioning units and their usage; the election and characterization of buildings, including simulation and validation throughout the monitoring of eight different buildings; ananalysis of the measures of energy efficiency and implementation in the models, including the election of a demonstrative building, the election of the most convenient EESs, modeling of EESs, implementing EESs in the building, monitoring, and validation; and ananalysis of the impact of the measures at the region or country level, throughout which important conclusions can be obtained in order to reduce energy consumption in the country. The results show that this methodology is a valid tool for countries situated in tropical areas in order to reduce the energy consumption associated with air conditioning units with low cost, availability, and no intrusive EESs.

BIM generation from 3D point clouds by combining 3D deep learning and improved morphological approach

The demand for the models of BIM has increased due to the numerous applications in emergency response and location-based services. Creating a semantically rich 3D interior model has traditionally been a very manual process. Although the latest LiDAR scanning and photogrammetry techniques efficiently capture the existing building, the automatic reconstruction of complete volumetric and functional interior models is still an intensive and challenging research topic. This paper presents a novel parametric modeling method for reconstructing semantic volumetric building interiors from the unstructured point cloud of a building. Unlike existing partitioning-based methods, our proposed method overcomes the limitations by providing a flexible framework for combining 3D Deep Learning and an improved morphological approach for inverse BIM modeling. By employing a flexible and robust three-step mechanism, the proposed method first classifies the point cloud into thirteen types using a 3D Deep Learning method, then extracts the surfaces and generates the initial feature space. In regularizing the space and modeling BIM, the space boundaries are optimized by formulating the subordination between the grid cells generated by walls and the segmented boundary shapes generated by the gridded floor plan through energy minimization. Then, a grammar-enhanced point-line polygon and parametric description are designed to generate the final BIM model. By using a robust space partitioning and optimization method, three main goals are achieved: recovery of geometric and semantic information, robustness in different data sources (especially in non-Manhattan scenes), parametric BIM modeling in our proposed method. The paper demonstrates the potential of our algorithms for both RGB-D and LiDAR point clouds acquired from scenes in Manhattan and outside Manhattan. Experimental results show that this method is capable of automatically generating a geometrically and semantically consistent BIM model that is competitive with the existing method in terms of geometric accuracy and model completeness.

Change detection for indoor construction progress monitoring based on BIM, point clouds and uncertainties

Automatic construction progress documentation and metric evaluation of execution work in confined building interiors requires particularly reliable geometric evaluation and interpretation of statistically uncertain as-built point clouds. This paper presents a method for high-resolution change detection based on dense 3D point clouds from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and the discretization of space by voxels. In order to evaluate the metric accuracy of a BIM according to the Level of Accuracy (LOA) specification, the effects of laser range measurements on the occupancy of space are modeled with belief functions and evaluated using Dempster and Shafer's theory of evidence. The application is demonstrated on the point cloud data of multi temporal scanning campaigns of real indoor reconstructions. The results show that TLS point clouds are suitable to verify a given BIM up to LOA 40 if special attention is paid to the scanning geometry during the acquisition. The proposed method can be used to document construction progress, verify and even update the LOA status of a given BIM, confirming valid and BIM-compliant as-built models for further planning.

Assessment of Thermal Performances of Walls Made of Rubberized Gypsum Composite in Arid Zones - Experimental Study and Simulation

Introduction: In this study, the thermal performance efficiency of buildings located in M’sila region (Algeria), which is considered as typical arid zone, was investigated. In its first part, the study focused on the laboratory evaluation of the thermomechanical properties of a gypsum mortar, in which rubber waste was incorporated by volume replacement of sand. The second part of study was to investigate the insulation performance of a typical wall subjected to arid climatic conditions, using numeric simulations. Methods: The thermal properties were measured using Transient Plane Source method (TPS), and then the Time-lag “ƒ” and decrement factor “φ” were calculated, for various wall configurations, using theoretical equations. The effect of various parameters was studied, including: wall thickness, inclusion of air space within the wall and application of surfacing materials. Result: The obtained results showed that when rubber content, in the composite, increases, the mechanical strength and the density decrease; whereas the insulating performances are considerably improved. The later were improved by more than 50% with 50% of rubber. The numerical simulations indicated that the thermal inertia characteristics [ƒ, φ] are improved when the thickness of the wall increased; moreover, more improvement was recorded (more than 38%% in time lag and more than 2h in decrement factor) when an air space was included within the wall and even when the wall surfaces are coated. Conclusion: The use of rubber waste as building materials, helps to regulate the temperature inside buildings, reduce the energy consumption, reduces the construction cost and protect the environment.

THE CONCEPT OF UNIVERSAL INTERIOR DESIGN OF PUBLIC SPACES OF KAZAKHSTAN

The research is devoted to the study of features of universal design, allowing all people to use the same objects, objects without adaptations or special design. The purpose of this article is to analyze the interiors of residential and public buildings for compliance with the criteria of universal design. The research methodology is based on seven main criteria defining the princi-ples of universal design. The result of the study will be the collection of comparative material from interior spaces and the subject environment for compliance with the criteria of universal design.

HIS THE INCREASE IN THE INCIDENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN YAKUTIA DUE TO A DECREASE IN COLD EXPOSURE OR DIETARY CHANGES?

In Yakutia for 30 thousand years people live, and for centuries they were constantly fighting with the cold for survival [5, 6]. Situation began to change only in the second half of the twentieth century. In 20-ies of the last century a campaign for the reconstruction of traditional Yakut home began. As a result of the transition from balagan (yurts) to houses with stove heating, and then to centralized and gas heating, the temperature inside residential buildings has significantly increased. A fairly extensive literature has now accumulated linking rising residential temperatures with obesity-related morbidity. In order to determine the role of climate warming, an increase in the average temperature in the houses of the region, and changes in the diet on the incidence of type 2 diabetes, we built a multiple regression equation with 10 factors over 20 years (1994-2013). The following factors were included in the multiple regression model: the average annual temperature in Yakutsk, the average temperature of houses in the region during the heating period, the consumption of vegetables, fruits, sugar, proteins, fats, carbohydrates per year per person, and the daily calorie content of the diet. The conducted studies made it possible to find out that there are positive linear statistically significant pair correlations between the incidence of DM2 and the consumption of fruits and berries, the average housing temperature, the consumption of vegetables and melons, and the calorie content of the diet, but when analyzing multiple regression, the role of each factor in the development of DM2 turns out to be statistically unreliable, except the level of consumption of fruits and berries (at p > 0.05). It should be noted that a sharp increase in the incidence of DM2 in the population of Yakutia (including indigenous people) is associated with many factors, but the role of increased consumption of fruits and berries in its development should be considered causal, probably due to the lack of adaptation of the body of northerners to intake of large amounts of fructose, with a high level of fat intake.

Considerations of the built environment for autistic individuals: A review of the literature.

Factors related to the interiors of buildings, including the layout of rooms, colours, smells, noises, temperature, ventilation, colour and clutter, among other things, can change the way we interact with our environment and the people around us. Autistic individuals can have differences in processing sensory information and may find aspects of the built environment (BE) over-whelming and difficult to navigate. We reviewed the existing literature exploring the BE and autism. This study found that it is possible to make changes to the BE to create more inclusive and friendly environments for everyone, including autistic individuals. Findings from this study provide clear recommendations that can be used by interior designers, architects, builders, and clinical practitioners to make a positive difference. Key recommendations include using simple spatial layouts, compartmentalising and zoning spaces into specific activity sections and providing retreat spaces. The thoughtful placement of windows and blinds and the installation of dimmable lights, for example, will allow users to manage or reduce sensory over-stimulation caused by lights. Similarly, we recommend creating soundproofing and sound absorbent materials to reduce background noise and sound levels. We also recommend using neutral or simple colour palettes and restrained use of patterns. Finally, and most importantly, the BE needs to be flexible and adaptable to meet the unique needs of each person. This study provides a starting point for design guidelines and recommendations towards making a difference to the everyday experiences of the interiors of buildings.