MoistureBuffering Material Properties p

PaulBaker&ChrisSanders SchoolofEngineering&Built Environment GCU

MoistureBuffering
Internalsurfacesofroomsandfurnishings yhaveap positiveeffecttomoderatethe may variationsofindoorhumidityseeninoccupied buildings. buildings Theabilityofamaterialtoabsorbandrelease moisturemaybe b defined f asitsMoisture BufferingCapacity.

MoistureBufferValue
NORDTEST O S h haved defined fi dthe h Moisture i Buffer ff ValueandtestproceduresinMoistureBuffering of fBuilding B ildi M Materials, t i l Report R tBYGDTUR126, 126 DTU Denmark,2005. Thisvalueisnotafundamentalmaterialproperty. Itcanbeusefulforcomparisonofmaterialsor evenrooms. ,fortheLaundry yp project j amore However, fundamentalapproachisrequiredto p modelling gactivities. complement

MoistureProperties
Thepropertieswhichcontributetomoisture gare: buffering
Vapourpermeability Moistureabsorption(&desorption) desorption).

GCUhascarriedout:
Areviewofdatabasesofmaterialproperties Measurementsofthepropertiesofsome materialswhicharenotavailable,e.g.clayboard

DiffusionResistanceFactor
Manymaterialshavearelativelylow DiffusionResistanceFactor i.e. morevapouropenorbreathable

Absorption

Caveat!
Itisimportanttonotethatboththe permeability p yandtheabsorption p aresteady y stateproperties Absorptiontestsinparticularmaytakeweeks toreachequilibriumandtestsarecarriedout with hall llsurfaces f exposed( (noteh high h absorptionofLaminateFlooring=MDF).

Absorptionofsomeroomfinishes

Possibleoperatingrangeofsurfacefinishes5090%RH?

 Theclayboard,linoandunsealedcorkappear potentialthanp plasterboardin tohavemorep termsofmoistureabsorption,butwithsimilar vapourpermeability Thereforebettermoisturebufferers?

TestDevelopment
U Using i apparatus t originallydesignedfor vapourpermeability testingofmembranes wehavedeveloped p a prototypeprocedure fortestingthe moisture i t buffering b ff i of f materialstoprovide dataformodel validation.

Samples oneexposedsurface

TestConditions
Steady23oC&50%RHtoachieveequilibrium IncreaseRHto90%forshortperiod Allowsampletoreturntoequilibriumat 50%RH Measurechange g inweight g ofsample p

Moisture Absorbed

ClayBoardsample

Moisture Released

FurtherWork
Examineeffectoffrequentcyclesofincreased g daily yortwicedaily. y RH e.g. Comparativetests(6samplesmaybetested simultaneously). simultaneously) Modelling(ESRU) aresteadystate absorption(+desorption)propertiesand permeabilityenoughtodescribemoisture bufferingeffects?

ThankYou