Moisture transfer in hygroscopic materials and energy exchangers for buildings

对建筑物的研究非常重要，因为加拿大人90%以上的时间都花在建筑物上，而加拿大的建筑业占能源消耗的30%以上。因此，为居住者提供良好的室内气候和空气质量的建筑物（即，健康的建筑物），同时消耗最少的能源，对一个健康、繁荣和可持续的国家很重要。一个重要但经常被忽视的室内环境参数是湿度，因此室内湿度通常被认为对于成功的设计来说是不重要的，因为温度更容易感知，量化和控制。然而，研究表明，室内相对湿度可以显著影响：（i）热舒适度，（ii）空气质量感知，（iii）居住者健康，（iv）建筑材料的耐久性，（v）材料排放和（vi）能源消耗。事实上，在加拿大和类似寒冷气候的国家，潮湿是建筑物故障和室内空气质量差的主要原因之一。由于温度和湿度在人类对空气质量的感知中起着重要作用，因此无论是否受到污染，湿热的空气都将被视为质量差（或污染物浓度高）。室内环境的质量尤为重要，因为它与居住者的健康和福祉密切相关。 该研究计划将研究建筑物内的热湿传递过程，特别关注室内空气和吸湿建筑结构之间的水分传递，以及用于调节室外通风空气和建筑物内部空间的高效空气-空气水分交换器。这项研究将导致最佳吸湿材料和水分交换器的应用，预计将改善居住者的舒适度，健康和生产力，减少供暖，通风和空调系统的能源需求和消耗，并改善室内空气质量和建筑物的可持续性。该研究对于在建筑物中有效和广泛地实施替代能源系统也很重要。

Research on buildings is very important because Canadians spend over 90% of their time in buildings and the building sector in Canada accounts for over 30% of energy consumption. Therefore, buildings that provide occupants with a good indoor climate and air quality (i.e., healthy buildings), while consuming minimal energy are important for a healthy, prosperous and sustainable nation. An important, but often neglected, indoor environmental parameter is humidity, thus indoor humidity is often considered to be of small importance for a successful design because temperature is easier to sense, quantify and control. Nevertheless, research has shown that the indoor relative humidity can significantly affect: (i) thermal comfort, (ii) the perception of air quality, (iii) occupant health, (iv) the durability of building materials, (v) material emissions and (vi) energy consumption. In fact, moisture is one of the leading causes of building failure and poor indoor air quality in Canada and countries with similar cold climates. Since temperature and humidity play an important role in the human perception of air quality, air that is hot and humid will be perceived to have a poor quality (or high concentration of contaminants) regardless of whether it is polluted or not. The quality of the indoor environment is especially important because it is strongly linked to the health and well being of occupants.      This research program will investigate heat and moisture transfer processes within buildings, with special attention to moisture transfer between indoor air and hygroscopic building structures and within high efficiency air-to-air moisture exchangers for conditioning outdoor ventilation air and interior spaces of buildings. This research will result in the application of optimal hygroscopic materials and moisture exchangers, which is expected to improve the comfort, health and productivity of occupants, reduce the energy demand and consumption of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, and improve the indoor air quality and sustainability of buildings. The research is also important for the efficient and wide-spread implementation of Alternative Energy Systems in buildings.