Integrating Moisture Dynamics into Grasshopper Architectural Design Workflow: A Plugin to Grasp the Benefits of Moisture Buffering Materials
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2024
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Conference Paper
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Abstract
This study investigates the efficacy of low-carbon building materials, particularly earthen composites, in regulating indoor moisture levels via numerical simulations. This work emphasises the need to integrate moisture dynamics into the early-design architectural workflow through a case study - an office building in Grenoble constructed with compressed earth bricks stabilized with cement. Dynamic numerical simulations through a new dynamic hygrothermal simulation grasshopper plugin – WaterSkater – are used to simulate the indoor temperature and humidity conditions in the case study. The simulations are calibrated against one year of measured indoor air hygrothermal data. The simulation model is then used to compare the indoor air temperature and humidity variation if a highly moisture-buffering, unstabilised earthen plaster is used to finish the indoor-facing surface of walls and ceiling. Results demonstrate the relevance of hygroscopic unstabilised earthen materials in improving indoor hygrometric comfort compared to cement-stabilised earthen construction. Additionally, the hygrothermal simulations are compared to conventional energy simulations performed with Grasshopper early design tools – Ladybug. The outcomes showcase that ordinary dynamic energy simulations do not consider moisture transfer, thus failing to grasp the benefit of moisture-buffering materials like earthen composites. Overall, this paper highlights the potential of unstabilised earthen materials for passive improvement of user comfort and showcases the ability of WaterSkater plugin to grasp this benefit, at the building level, from the early stages of architectural design workflows.
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published
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Event
78th RILEM Annual Week & RILEM International Conference on Sustainable Materials & Structures: Meeting the Major Challenges of the 21st Century (SMS 2024)
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Subject
Moisture buffering; Dynamic simulations; Hygrothermal simulations; Hygroscopic; Comfort; Clay
Organisational unit
03972 - Habert, Guillaume / Habert, Guillaume
02655 - Netzwerk Stadt u. Landschaft ARCH u BAUG / Network City and Landscape ARCH and BAUG
Notes
Conference lecture on August 27, 2024.