Development and Application of a New Apparatus for Moisture Measurement in Building Composites

Abstract

The presented paper is divided into two levels. On the first level, the research is focused on development of a material that includes a smart fabric membrane (nanofiber) and is waterproof and vapour-permeable. On the second level, it deals with the development of an apparatus which is able to evaluate the resistance of the building composite against water. A new device is presented that can measure how waterproof the building material is, with a thickness between five to 20 centimetres. The tested samples are in the shape of a square or circle, they have a width of 20 centimetres, or a diameter of 20 centimetres. All of the building composite samples were tested using a water column that is one meter high. Experiments simulate floods on this new apparatus. It was found that materials can be evaluated not only according to the amount of water flow per unit of time, but also according to the shape of the flow curves.