Towards a more representative assessment of frost damage to porous building materials

Feng, Chi; Roels, Staf; Janssen, Hans

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106343

Cited by 37 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Hygrothermal simulations are valuable for properly designing new buildings and renovating existing ones [1][2][3]. The built environment can also be optimally understood, controlled and improved with the assistance of hygrothermal simulations [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introduction 11 Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hygric properties of porous building materials (VI): A round robin campaign

Feng

Guimarães

Ramos

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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Hygric properties of porous building materials are important for hygrothermal analysis. Their experimental determination is however not always reliable, shown by the discrepant results from different laboratories on the same materials. In this study, a recent round robin campaign initiated by KU Leuven (Belgium) and participated in by eight institutes from different countries is reported. Ceramic brick was selected as the target material. The bulk density and open porosity from vacuum saturation tests, the capillary absorption coefficient and capillary moisture content from capillary absorption tests, and the vapor permeability from cup tests were measured. Results were analyzed statistically and compared with a previous round robin project, EC HAMSTAD. The reproducibility errors for determining the capillary absorption coefficient were noticeably reduced when compared with the EC HAMSTAD project, and the different laboratories in the present study obtained similar results from vacuum saturation tests and capillary absorption tests without a common protocol. For cup tests, large inter-laboratory discrepancies still exist. However, with a stringent common protocol different laboratories achieved consistent results. For all properties a common protocol did not change the average results of all laboratories.

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Section: Introduction 11 Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hygric properties of porous building materials (VI): A round robin campaign

Feng

Guimarães

Ramos

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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“…In addition, although most of these investigations have been performed on cement-based materials, other building materials such as fired clay materials are also known to be affected by the supercooling effect. Rapid temperature rises have been observed in both laboratory experiments and outdoor environments [10,11]. Because of large differences in pore structures, supercooling of fired clay materials may have different characteristics compared to cement-based materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental investigation and hygrothermal modelling of freeze-thaw process of saturated fired clay materials including supercooling phenomenon

et al. 2020

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To investigate the supercooling phenomenon in fired clay materials, low-temperature differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a one-dimensional freeze-thaw (FT) experiment were performed on saturated specimens. The rate of increase in ice saturation during freezing was calculated from the DSC result. Rapid ice growth over a relatively narrow temperature range (within about 0.2 K) was observed at a cooling rate of 0.25 K/min. In the FT experiment, the temperature distribution of a specimen was measured with inserted thermocouples. According to the results of the FT experiment, a rapid temperature increase was observed at sub-zero temperatures accompanied by freezing of the supercooled water. When the supercooled water began to freeze, the released latent heat was found to strongly prevent the specimen temperature from dropping even during the cooling period. Finally, a hygrothermal model of freezing and thawing including a non-equilibrium supercooling process was developed. The freezing rate of the supercooled water was modelled based on the DSC result. The validity of the model was verified by comparing the results of the FT experiment and calculations. The model was found to be able to replicate the rapid temperature rise during the cooling period of the FT experiment.

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“…However, in reality the critical saturation degree is pore system dependent (Mensinga et al, 2010). Ongoing efforts to refine the assessment criteria are promising (Feng et al, 2019). In perspective of this study it is preferred to calculate Freeze-thaw-cycle based on the number of times the ice mass volume over the pore volume simulated by the Delphin software decreases below 25%.…”

Section: Damage Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity analysis of the hygrothermal behaviour of homogeneous masonry constructions: Interior insulation, rainwater infiltration and hydrophobic treatment

Calle

Bossche

2021

Journal of Building Physics

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Historical masonry constructions are difficult to mimic in hygrothermal models. The material properties of the walls are often highly uncertain due to the natural origin of the aggregates and the various, manual production processes used through time. Therefore, sensitivity analyses based on probabilistic simulations are powerful tools to indicate the risks on damage in masonry constructions. Damage criteria for relevant pathologies such as frost damage, potential decay of wooden beam heads and mould growth at the interior surface are used. The assessment methods (Scatter plots, Classification trees and Sobol indices) are based on 1D Heat, Air and Moisture simulations, including realistic variations on climate parameters and wall properties. These methodologies are applied to probabilistic simulations in which a potential damage risk is expected in historic masonries. The application of interior insulation, the use of hydrophobic treatments, and the impact of potential water infiltrations through cracks are discussed. In most of these situations a high dependency of each of the damage criteria on the rain intensity, the trend of the moisture retention/liquid conductivity curve and the absorption coefficient is evident, but also additional insights are found. For example, the thermal impact of interior insulation is negligible compared to its reduction of the first phase drying potential towards the interior. For hydrophobic treatments, the risk for damage typically decreases, but in combination with a rain water infiltration rate above approximately 5% of the wind driven rain the risk on mould growth at the interior surface significantly increases.

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Towards a more representative assessment of frost damage to porous building materials

Cited by 37 publications

References 37 publications

Hygric properties of porous building materials (VI): A round robin campaign

Hygric properties of porous building materials (VI): A round robin campaign

Experimental investigation and hygrothermal modelling of freeze-thaw process of saturated fired clay materials including supercooling phenomenon

Sensitivity analysis of the hygrothermal behaviour of homogeneous masonry constructions: Interior insulation, rainwater infiltration and hydrophobic treatment

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