Hygrothermal rehabilitation of public buildings.A case study on “Luceafărul” theatre in Jassy

Abstract

In the selection of thermo-energetic rehabilitation solutions, there are certain restrictions determined especially by the imperative of preserving the architectural characteristics, a large proportion of these buildings falling under the categories of historic or cultural monuments of high architectural value. Under the second category comes “Luceafărul” Theatre from Jassy, a representative edifice for the area in which it is located. The requirement of conserving the current appearance of the façade areas veneered with travertine has imposed the placing of thermal insulation on the interior surface. Taking into account that interior insulation implies a higher risk of interstitial condensation, a non-steady state coupled heat and mass transfer analysis was performed, by using the WUFI program. The results of this study are plotted as annual variations of relative humidity in the structure of envelope elements, pointing out the layers that are susceptible of excessive values. By numerical simulation of heat transfer with ANSYS program, the discussion is extended with the influence that the insulation of two adjacent envelope elements has on the surface condesation risk, for the case in which at the thermal bridge obtained there a discontinuity exists in the insulation layer.

Keywords

• heat and mass transfer
• building envelope
• condensation risk
• hygrothermal improvement
• cultural monument