Gabriela Bastos, a native of Brazil, is passionate about research. In front of the tribunal, fellow doctorate students, family and friends, she defended the doctoral thesis she has been working on for four years. After finishing one of the most challenging stages at staff level, she will continue her research at the School within the SAVIArquitectura research group .
The line of research he has been working on focuses on how to more realistically represent air infiltration in building energy simulation. "Infiltration is a phenomenon that is difficult to measure, but has a great impact on comfort, energy consumption and indoor air quality," he explains. As opposed to the traditional approach , which treats it as an adjustable parameter within model calibration, "I propose an alternative method based on its empirical characterization through Blower Door and tracer gas tests using CO₂."
Overall, their line of research offers a methodological framework applicable to energy rehabilitation projects, where the airtightness of the building plays a core topic
Why did you decide to do your thesis on this topic?
The topic of my thesis was proposed to me by my director, Carlos Fernández Bandera, within his research line on calibration of energy models, where air infiltration represented one of the main sources of uncertainty in the results. It seemed to me a very interesting opportunity to go deeper into this problem and contribute to the development of a new methodological framework .
How was the work with your tutors?
work with my mentors was very rewarding. I was able to learn from their extensive experience, both internship and theoretical, and they always encouraged me to push my own limits to keep growing. Each one brought complementary perspectives from architecture and engineering, enriching the research and my training. Having their support, empathy and closeness was fundamental to be able to finish successfully.
What are your plans for the future?
I would like to continue researching and, in fact, I will start as a postdoc in the research project CLIMAREADY+TPV, directed by Aurora Monge and Ana Sánchez-Ostiz, within the research group SAVIArquitectura of the University of Navarra. In addition, this new stage will also allow me to dedicate myself to teaching, which is something I am passionate about.
Gabriela Bastos with her thesis directors Carlos Fernández Bandera and Juan Bautista Echeverría.
