Stochastic study of hygrothermal performance of a wall assembly-The influence of material properties and boundary coefficients

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

An accurate description of material properties and boundary conditions is the prerequisite to achieve reliable results of a hygrothermal performance simulation. However, the uncertainties widely exist in those input variables, e.g., due to the inhomogeneous nature of materials and discrepancies in material manufacturing and measurement processes, the material properties are subjected to considerable variation. Therefore, the simulation result may not be only a single value, but in a range of possibilities. In this article, a stochastic approach is developed and implemented by using uncertainty analysis which assesses the uncertainties of a model's input variables on that of the output variables, and sensitivity analysis, which identifies the most influential input variables. The hygrothermal performance of one typical wall assembly in North America is studied by applying this approach, considering the uncertainties of material properties of each individual layer and the uncertainties of the interior and exterior boundary coefficients. The influence of wall orientation is also presented. The results show that the effect of a single input variable on an output variable is not constant but varies with time. The key variables that affect the results are also different over time.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)591-601
Number of pages11
Journal HVAC & R research : an international journal of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration research / publ. by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
Volume17
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2011
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 80052485527
RIS urn:027280A5BA6A9621A9D696654BCA8B77

Keywords

Keywords

  • Sensitivity-analysis, Identification, Uncertainty