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A multiscale network model for simulating moisture transfer properties of porous media

Carmeliet, J., Descamps, F. and Houvenaghel, G.
1999
Journal Transport in Porous Medi 35(1):a, t) 1573-163

Carmeliet, J., Descamps, F. and Houvenaghel, G., (1999), "A multiscale network model for simulating moisture transfer properties of porous media", Journal Transport in Porous Medi 35(1):a, t) 1573-163.
Abstract:
A multiscale network model is presented to model unsaturated moisture transfer in hygroscopic capillary-porous materials showing a broad pore-size distribution. Both capillary effects and water sorption phenomena, water vapour and liquid water transfer are considered. The multiscale approach is based on the concept of examining the porous space at different levels of magnification. The conservation of the water vapour permeability of dry material is used as scaling criterion to link the different pore scales. A macroscopic permeability is deduced from the permeabilities calculated at the different levels of magnification. Each level of magnification is modelled using an isotropic nonplanar 2D cross-squared network. The multiscale network simulates the enhancement of water vapour permeability due to capillary condensation, the hysteresis phenomenon between wetting and drying, and the steep increase of moisture permeability at the critical moisture saturation level. The calculated network permeabilities are compared with experimental data for calcium silicate and ceramic brick and a good agreement is observed.

multiscale network - moisture permeability - water vapour diffusion - liquid watertransfer.

Related Concepts

Author Information and Other Publications Notes
Carmeliet, J.
Department of Civil Engineering Laboratory of Building Physics, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
  1. A comparison of different techniques to quantify moisture content profiles in porous building materials
  2. A review of wind-driven rain research in building science
  3. A simplified numerical model for rainwater runoff on building facades: Possibilities and limitations
  4. Conservative modelling of the moisture and heat transfer in building components under atmospheric excitation
  5. Description of the moisture capacity of building materials
  6. Determination of the isothermal moisture transport properties of porous building materials
  7. Determination of the liquid water diffusivity from transient moisture transfer experiments
  8. Determination of the moisture capacity of porous building materials
  9. Driving rain on building envelopes II: representative experimental data for driving rain estimation
  10. Microscopic analysis of imbibition processes in oolitic limestone
  11. Modeling fluid flow in fractured media using continuum, network and discrete aproaches
  12. Pedestrian wind environment around buildings: literature review and practical examples
  13. Performance prediction for masonry walls with EIFS using calculation procedures and laboratory testing
  14. Position paper on material characterization and HAM model benchmarking
  15. Rainwater runoff from building facades: A review
  16. Simulating non-isothermal water vapour transfer: an experimental validation on multi-layered building components
  17. Spatial and temporal distribution of driving rain on a low-rise building
  18. The influence of soil moisture in the unsaturated zone on the heat loss from buildings via the ground
  19. Wind, rain and the building envelope: studies at the Laboratory of Building Physics, KULeuven
  20. Wind-driven rain as a boundary condition for HAM simulations: Analysis of simplified modelling approaches  
Descamps, F.
     
Houvenaghel, G.
     


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