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Moisture damage is one of the most important factors limiting a building s service life. High moisture level can cause metal corrosion, wood decay and structure degradation. In addition to the construction damage, moisture migrating through the building envelope may have a significant influence on indoor air humidity and air-conditioning loads, especially latent cooling load. Consequently, studying the coupled heat and moisture transport in buildings is essential to improving their performances.

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Prof. Qin s research mainly focuses on the hygrothermal performance of buildings, coupled heat and moisture transfer in porous building materials, and sustainable building design, especially for hot and humid climates. He is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research at NJU in China.

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