Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/N25282/01
Title:	MEASUREMENT & PREDICTION OF INDOOR MICROENVIRONMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF BIOCONTAMINANTS
Principal Investigator:	Galbraith, Professor GH
Other Investigators:	McLean, Mr RC Sanders, Mr CH
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Branz Michelin Protimeter plc Scottish Homes
Department:	Sch of Engineering & Built Environment
Organisation:	Glasgow Caledonian University
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2001	Ends:	31 March 2004	Value (£):	188,574
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Building Ops & Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Construction Environment
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The development of strategies for the control of biocontaminants, such as dust mites and microfungi, is an issue of national importance. Considerable attention has been focused on noninvasive methods of control based on the modification of room conditions. However, the successful application of such psychometric methods requires a knowledge of the correlation between the ambient room conditions and the microclimates inhabited by biocontaminants. This knowledge is currently deficient, principally due to the lack of a humidity sensor which can accurately measure conditions within microenvironments having a spatial scale of only a few millimeters. This project will address this problem. A microsensor, capable of measuring humidity with millimetric spatial resolution will be designed, developed, calibrated and optimised, following a laboratory evaluation of performance. Sensors built to the finalised design, will then be used in a laboratory-simulated domestic environment. This will investigate conditions within two typical microhabitats - carpets and soft furniture. The measurement data will be interrogated to identify the correlation between the microclimates and the bulk air. The critical factors influencing microclimates will be prioritised and a basic theoretical framework formulated, which will constitute a first step in the authoring of microclimate computer subroutines for incorporation within environmental simulation tools.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.gcal.ac.uk