Modelling of VOCs in heritage collections using CFD

Project Information

SMELL-MODEL

Grant agreement ID: 326676

Project closed

Start date

End date

Funded under

• Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Total cost € 221 606,40

EU contribution € 221 606,40

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Objective

"The necessity to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) is widely recognized in view of its health implications and damage concerns to heritage. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), constituting the typical ‘smell’ of museums, galleries, libraries and archives, have been shown to have an important role on the degradation of contemporary materials, but the real impact of artworks on IAQ is almost unknown. This is mainly due to the lack of knowledge of the behaviour of materials and objects as sources and sinks of these compounds in primary or secondary ways. The SmellModel project will focus on VOC reaction processes in order to improve indoor monitoring practices and prevent damage to cultural properties. The innovative challenge is to assess the issue of the impact of VOCs on heritage collections using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling tool. This objective is at the forefront of research in indoor air quality but has not been addressed at all yet.
The principal aim of the project is to establish methods and models to predict interactions and provide reliable estimations of VOCs in different environmental conditions. Laboratory experiments as well as measurements in situ, i.e. in historic collections, will contribute to validation of the models and develop the understanding of how the concentration of VOCs varies as a function of material type (e.g. paper, carpet, wood), material properties (e.g. porosity, chemical composition), environmental physical quantities (e.g. temperature, relative humidity, air speed) and enclosure geometry or size (e.g. room, box, display case).
A VOC database will be developed and used in a CFD platform that will allow prediction of VOCs in heritage environments. In this way the SmellModel project will enable forecasting of possible scenarios in terms IAQ and better control and preservation of heritage, while also having important implications on the understanding the interactions between buildings, collections and occupants"

Fields of science

• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › databases
• natural sciences › chemical sciences › organic chemistry › volatile organic compounds
• engineering and technology › environmental engineering › air pollution engineering
• natural sciences › physical sciences › classical mechanics › fluid mechanics › fluid dynamics › computational fluid dynamics
• natural sciences › mathematics › pure mathematics › geometry

Programme(s)

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development"

Call for proposal

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

• EU contribution: € 221 606,40
• Address: GOWER STREET ; WC1E 6BT LONDON ;
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Administrative Contact: Giles Machell (Mr.)
• Total cost: No data