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Degradation Control of Historical Walls with Rising Damp Problems

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Hygrothermal Behavior, Building Pathology and Durability

Part of the book series: Building Pathology and Rehabilitation ((BUILDING,volume 1))

Abstract

Treating rising damp in the walls of historical buildings is a very complex procedure. Moisture transfer in the walls of old buildings in direct contact with the ground leads to the migration of soluble salts, which are responsible for many building pathologies. This work follows two main lines of research: one theoretical (analytical and numerical) and one experimental. The theoretical part describes an extensive analysis of the phenomenon of rising damp using an analytical equation based on the concepts and methods of unsaturated flow theory, and a numerical validation study. The results show that the simple analytical model clearly describes the rising damp front when compared with the numerical simulations. The influence of wall thickness, boundary conditions, wall composition and material properties such as porosity and sorptivity are analyzed in detail. The experimental part presents the results of the work developed by the Building Physics Laboratory (LFC) to treat rising damp in a historical church, locate in Northern Portugal. The main purpose is to validate the technology of wall base ventilation, for treating rising damp in walls of historic buildings. The analytical model used and the numerical results obtained describe well the observed features of rising damp in walls, verified by in-field tests, who contributed for a simple sizing of the HUMIVENT device to be implement in historic buildings.

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Abbreviations

a :

Cross section area, [m2]

a s :

Regression constant (a s  = 0.25), [–]

A :

Water absorption coefficient, [kg/m2s1/2]

b :

Wall thickness, [m]

b s :

Regression constant (a s  = 0.50), [–]

c :

Water vapour concentration, [kg/m3]

c 0 :

Initial water vapour concentration, [kg/m3]

c * :

Surface wall water vapour concentration, [kg/m3]

c p :

Air specific heat (c p ≅ 1013), [J/kg °C]

d r :

Variable defined by Eq. (25), [–]

D m :

Molecular diffusion coefficient, [m2/s]

D ϕ :

Liquid conduction coefficient, [kg/ms]

e :

Evaporation potential, [m/s]

e H :

Evaporation potential for the wall base ventilation system, [m/s]

e s :

Evaporation potential for the wall zone with tiles, [m/s]

e pm :

Evaporation potential given by Penman–Monteith equation, [m/s]

e o :

Evaporation potential given by Oudin equation, [m/s]

F c :

Capillary force, [N]

F g :

Gravitational force, [N]

F μ :

Viscous force, [N]

g :

Gravitational acceleration, [m/s2]

G :

Soil heat flux (G ≅ 0), [J/m2s]

h :

Height, [m]

h H :

Height of the wall base ventilation system, [m]

h s :

Height of the sand, [m]

h v :

Latent heat of phase change, [J/kg]

h ∞ :

Steady-state height of rise, [m]

i :

Volume of liquid absorbed per unit cross section, [m3/m2]

J :

Number of the day in the year, [–]

L :

Length of the saturated wall, [m]

k :

Capillary coefficient, [m/s1/2]

m :

Mass absorbed, [kg]

M :

Water molecular weight, [Kg/mol]

n s :

Actual duration of sunshine, [h]

n :

Moisture transfer rate, [kg/s]

N :

Maximum possible duration of sunshine, [h]

p :

Pressure, [Pa]

p c :

Capillary pressure, [Pa]

p d :

Water vapor pressure at dew-point temperature, [kPa]

p v :

Saturation water vapor pressure, [Pa]

Q :

Total quantity of water stored within unit length of the wall, [m3/m]

r :

Cylindrical capillary radius, [m]

r a :

Aerodynamic resistance, [s/m]

r s :

Surface resistance (r s ≅ 70), [s/m]

Re:

Reynolds number (Re = ρ air uL/μ), [–]

R a :

Extraterrestrial radiation, [J/m2s]

R g :

Ideal gas constant, [J/molK]

R ns :

Net solar radiation, [J/m2s]

R s :

Solar radiation, [J/m2s]

S :

Sorptivity coefficient (S = A/ρ w ), [m/s1/2]

Sc:

Schmidt number (Sc = μ/ρ air D m ), [–]

t :

Time, [s]

T :

Temperature, [°C]

T a :

Air temperature, [°C]

T d :

Dew-point temperature, [°C]

u :

Capillary rise velocity or Absolute value of air velocity, [m/s]

y :

Cartesian co-ordinate, [m]

w :

Water content, [kg/m3]

w 2 :

Wind speed at a height of 2 m, [m/s]

w 80 % :

Water content at 80 % of relative humidity, [kg/m3]

w f :

Free water saturation, [kg/m3]

w s :

Variable defined by Eq. (24), [–]

z :

Cartesian co-ordinate, [m]

ε :

Porosity, [-]

α :

Albedo coefficient (α ≅ 0.23), [–]

δ :

Boundary layer thickness, [m]

δ 1 :

Variable defined by Eq. (26), [–]

δ p :

Vapor permeability, [kg/msPa]

\( \phi \) :

Relative humidity,[%]

ϕ :

Initial relative humidity, [–]

γ :

Liquid surface tension, [N/m]

η :

Psychrometric constant (η ≅ 0.066), [kPa/°C]

φ :

Angle, [rad]

λ T :

Thermal conductivity, [W/mK]

μ :

Liquid viscosity, [Ns/m2]

μ a :

Air viscosity, [Ns/m2]

θ :

Wetting angle, [Rad]

θ w :

Water bulk volume (θ w = w f/ρ w), [–]

ρ :

Density, [kg/m3]

ρ air :

Air density, [kg/m3]

ρ w :

Water density, [kg/m3]

Δ :

Slope of the vapor pressure curve, [kPa/°C]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, LFC—Building Physics Laboaratory, Civil Engineering Department, University of Porto, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    A. S. Guimarães, J. M. P. Q. Delgado & V. P. de Freitas

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  1. A. S. Guimarães
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  2. J. M. P. Q. Delgado
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  3. V. P. de Freitas
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Correspondence to A. S. Guimarães .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of, Building Physics Laboratory, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal

    V. Peixoto de Freitas

  2. Universidade do Porto, Laboratorio de Fisica das, Faculdade de Engenharia, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal

    J.M.P.Q. Delgado

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Guimarães, A.S., Delgado, J.M.P.Q., de Freitas, V.P. (2013). Degradation Control of Historical Walls with Rising Damp Problems. In: de Freitas, V., Delgado, J. (eds) Hygrothermal Behavior, Building Pathology and Durability. Building Pathology and Rehabilitation, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31158-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31158-1_6

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