Characterisation of hygric properties of building materials via dynamic methods and system identification.

Moisture transfer in building materials is a major determinant for the durability and sustainability of built structures, the achievement of a healthy indoor environment, the energy consumption, etc. To reliable quantify moisture transfer via numerical simulation, the moisture storage and moisture transport properties of building materials are required. Currently, these properties are, however, not defined for the full moisture range. In the mid-saturation range, knowledge on the hygric properties is lacking. In addition, ad- and desorption measurements are commonly merged. Furthermore, the current measurement techniques require weeks till months of experiments. In this project a complete, efficient and innovative measurement strategy based on dynamic experiments in combination with system identification will be developed. To this aim, the feasibility of replacing static by dynamic measurements, which demand a shorter experimental time and which are promising to provide information for the full moisture range and for ad- and desorption, is studied. In order to compile the dynamic experiments, a robust system identification algorithm will be developed. The hygric characterisation strategy will be validated based on real building materials. To end, experimental time and cost of the developed strategy will be optimised by selecting the minimum and most efficient experiments, which makes the strategy interesting for material developers, future research projects, etc.