Requirements for Test Series for Relative Humidity Measurements to Calibrate Drying Time Simulation Model

Abstract

There is a great need for an easy-to-use tool to simulate drying of concrete floors. In order to model practical situations, the tool should take into account changing conditions, especially wetting at worksite, but also temperature. For this purpose, a simulation program was developed for drying time estimations for concrete floors, which was published in 2021 and is named as the “by2020 Concrete drying time estimate”. This study presents the results of the laboratory test series conducted to calibrate the drying time estimations of the by2020 software. As all possible scenarios for practical situations were not possible to study in the test series, results from the literature were partly used for calibration and validation of the tool. A methodology for test series for calibration of the drying time estimation model is proposed based on this study. It was found that a model suitable for practical applications can be implemented based on relative humidity measurements only. However, the tests series of relative humidity measurements should take into account the influence of various factors such as wetting period and different temperature conditions.