Factorial Study on the Impact of Climate Change on Freeze-Thaw Damage, Mould Growth and Wood Decay in Solid Masonry Walls in Brussels

Abstract

Previous studies show that climate change has an impact on the damage risks in solid masonry facades. To conserve these valuable buildings, it is important to determine the projected change in damages for the original and internally insulated cases. Since historical masonry covers a wide range of properties, it is unknown how sensitive the climate change impact is to variations in different parameters, such as wall thickness, brick type, etc. A factorial study is performed to determine the climate change impact on freeze-thaw risk, mould growth and wood decay in solid masonry in Brussels, Belgium. It is found that the critical orientation equals the critical wind-driven rain orientation and does not change over time. Further, the freeze-thaw risk is generally decreasing, whereas the change in mould growth and wood decay depends on the climate scenario. Knowing the brick type and rain exposure coefficient is most important when assessing the climate change impact. For freeze-thaw risk and wood decay, it is found that simulating one wall thickness for the uninsulated and one insulated case is sufficient to represent the climate change impact. Finally, the effects of climate change generally do not compensate for the increase in damage after the application of internal insulation.

Wood Preservation Practices and Future Outlook: Perspectives of Experts from Finland

“…Emphasizing the increasing mold problems due to climate change in Finland, it is among the findings that surface treatment has become more important than ever. Similar results were found in numerous studies [87][88][89][90]. One of these studies focused on the relationship between increased mold and climate change risk in two historic wooden buildings in Vestfold County, Norway [90].…”

The impact of demographical, geographical and climatological factors on building defects in Belgium

“…Instant water ingress in roof and wall assemblies is often reported, but an excess of rain water deposition in moisture buffering materials may also lead to slower moisture-related defects such as frost damage, wood decay and mould 2. Input variables: units, average, standard deviation (STD), description and source growth (Vandemeulebroucke et al, 2021). Furthermore, high wind speeds may cause elements to detach from the structure and in that way expose the building component to uncontrolled rain water infiltration.…”

Assessment of frost damage risk in a historic masonry wall due to climate change

“…Existing literature suggests a decreasing trend of the frost damage risk in southern Norway due to climate change (Sabbioni et all., 2010;Kaslegard, 2011;Leissner et al, 2015;Loli and Bertolin, 2018). However, the severity of the calculated degradation may vary significantly based on the modelling approach that is used for the frost damage risk assessment (Van Aarle et al, 2015;Sahyoun, et al, 2019;Vandemeulebroucke et al, 2019Vandemeulebroucke et al, , 2021a. A well-accepted method to assess the frost damage risk of masonry buildings is by counting the freeze-thaw cycles that their building materials experience.…”

“…A well-accepted method to assess the frost damage risk of masonry buildings is by counting the freeze-thaw cycles that their building materials experience. The freeze-thaw events can be calculated by considering climate-based indices (Viles, 2002;Grossi et al, 2007;Sabbioni et al, 2010;Leissner et al, 2015;Loli and Bertolin, 2018) or material response-based indices (Sedlbauer and Kunzel, 2000;Straube and Burnett, 2005;Straube and Schumacher, 2006;Mantha and Arena, 2012;De Rose et al, 2014;Van Aarle et al, 2015;Vandemeulebroucke et al, 2019Vandemeulebroucke et al, , 2020Vandemeulebroucke et al, , 2021aZhou et al, 2020;Hao et al, 2020;Sahyoun et al, 2020).…”