Durability of interior renderings in schools: optimization of envelope insulation for mitigation of mould growth risk

A high standard education is, nowadays, a clear objective for anymodern society. In Portugal, the retrofit of educational buildings has an enormousrelevance as demonstrated by the Program for Retrofit and Upgrade of HighSchools. Educational buildings specific characteristics such as high occupancyrates and high amount of time children spend in classrooms make them a specialcase compared to other buildings. Mould growth on envelope surfaces is frequentlyobserved in these buildings, reducing the expected durability of renderingsand coatings. The present work consisted of two main lines of research: one ofsimulation and other of optimization. The simulation part included modelling ofInterior Surfaces Temperature, Indoor Air Temperature and Relative Humidityvariation, before and after a hypothetical retrofit process. Optimization techniqueswere applied in the definition of insulation thickness to be numerically tested in theafter retrofit scenario. The objective was to minimise insulation thickness ineach building element of the envelope. The constraints were derived from thecontrol of surface temperature values that would result in mould growth risk