Sharp front analysis of moisture buffering

Hall, Christopher and Lo, Gloria J. and Hamilton, Andrea (2021) Sharp front analysis of moisture buffering. RILEM Technical Letters, 6. pp. 78-81. ISSN 2518-0231 (https://doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2021.136)

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Abstract

Moisture buffering describes the use of materials with high water-vapour sorption capacity to provide humidity control in interior spaces. Established models of the moisture dynamics of buffering are derived from conventional Fickian vapour-diffusion equations. We describe an alternative analysis using a Sharp-Front formulation. This yields a similar expression for the moisture effusivity, several consistent scalings and a new definition of the moisture penetration depth. Features of the model are compared with some published experimental data. A new sorption buffer index is a measurable experimental property that describes the water-vapour buffer strength of the material.