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Analytical quantification of the impact of sub-slab gravel layer on the airflow from soil into building substructures

  • Research Article
  • Indoor/Outdoor Airflow and Air Quality
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Abstract

The entry of soil gas pollutants into buildings has been the subject of many studies and some analytical airflow models have been developed to estimate this entry into buildings. The existing airflow models do not include the sub-slab gravel layer that can influence significantly the airflow from soil into buildings. In this paper, an analytical airflow model, which considers this sub-slab gravel layer has been developed. Moreover, a 2D finite-element model has been used for numerical comparison. This comparison gave a satisfactory agreement with the analytical model. The airflow model is presented as flow-pressure equation and can be integrated easily in vapour intrusion models or ventilation models to enable the quantification of the impact of these pollutants on indoor air quality.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted in the framework of a PhD at the scientific and technical centre of building in France (CSTB) in collaboration with the Laboratory of Engineering Sciences for Environment (LaSIE) at University of La Rochelle and supported by ADEME (Agence De l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie).

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Correspondence to Thierno M. O. Diallo.

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Diallo, T.M.O., Collignan, B. & Allard, F. Analytical quantification of the impact of sub-slab gravel layer on the airflow from soil into building substructures. Build. Simul. 11, 155–163 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-017-0375-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-017-0375-y

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