This paper reports on a transient heat, air and moisture transfer (HAM) model. The governing partialdifferential equations are simultaneously solved for temperature and capillary pressure through multi-layered porous media, including the non-linear transfer and storage properties of materials. Using partial differential equations functions, some thermo-physical properties of porous media are converted into coefficients depending on temperature and capillary pressure. Major features of the model are multi-dimensional and transient coupling of heat, air and moisture transport. The coupled equations are solved using the COMSOL Multiphysics time-dependent solver. This solver enables HAM (Heat, Air, Moisture) modeling in porous media. Besides, the good agreements obtained with a 2D benchmark suggest that the model can be used to assess the hygrothermal performance of building envelope components. This paper concludes that the total heat flux in the insulated wall represents only the quarter of that crossing the uninsulated concrete roof. On the other hand, the concrete having the lowest water vapour permeability of all used materials allows maintaining the vapour pressure levels close to the initial value (10 3 Pa). This induces a situation of interstitial condensation within the concrete of the roof. Being able to evaluate the hygrothermal behaviour, the proposed model may turn out to be a valuable tool to solve other building problems.
This paper reports on numerical modeling of heat, air, and moisture transfer through multilayered walls. Building materials are often subjected to temporal climatic variations, which can induce a transfer of heat and moisture through the walls of the building and the foundation soil. These materials are generally considered as porous media. The coupled heat, air and moisture transfer in building materials is of paramount importance in the construction area. In this way, a mathematical model has been elaborated and validated using a benchmark example. Here, we aim to determine the energy losses. The capillary pressure is considered as potential moisture which represents both the transport of vapor and liquid phases of the water. Basing on basic functions of partial differential equations (PDE's), one can convert certain measurable properties of porous media as coefficients depending on the temperature and the capillary pressure. The results obtained compare favourably with other available in the literature.
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