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Natural smoke control systems in staircases are one of the available systems used for the protection of escape routes from smoke and are one of the most utilised for medium to high rise buildings. However, their effectiveness (as well as other ventilation systems) is strongly dependent on the weather conditions, especially the outdoor temperature. This paper describes the results of real-scale experiments of the airflow in a staircase's natural smoke exhaust system. The experimental staircase was localised in a medium-high building, "LabFactor" at the Lodz University of Technology in Poland. The experiments were performed over a period of six months, from February to July 2019, and included measurements of external and internal air temperature as well as the airflow through the staircase. The results obtained enabled an evaluation of the effectiveness of the ventilation and natural smoke exhaust system in the staircase, in relation to external temperatures. It was found that natural smoke exhaust systems could operate below an acceptable level of effectiveness for nearly 25% of the year. The experimental results were confirmed with CFD simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Works of art are sensitive to environmental factors—mainly temperature and relative humidity—which, when stable, are generally recommended as ideal protection conditions, but in historical museum buildings, the required conditions are difficult to maintain, due to a lack of adequate heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. The paper presents the analysis of one-year measurements of temperature and relative humidity in three different museums in Poland. The aim of the research was to identify the risk to museum collections, due to unbalanced moisture loads and unstable indoor air temperatures, as well as to identify possible causes of fluctuations in these parameters. This article focuses on assessing the impact of variable external and internal loads on the hygrothermal parameters of indoor air. The profile of internal hygrothermal loads in exhibition halls varied over time, which resulted in a temporary variation of the indoor environmental parameters. The lack of appropriate systems, shaping the microclimate in the analyzed museums, and the lack of automatic control in existing devices did not allow to maintain the temperature and relative humidity within appropriate limits. In the museums, the maximum indoor temperature values were higher than those recommended in the requirements. Relative humidity values in all museums exceeded the recommended range both above and below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]