Semi-laboratory scale investigation of energy efficiency of masonry wall drying process by applying a thermo-injection method

Numerical analysis of the energy efficiency of drying a flooded masonry wall by applying a variable drying air temperature profile

“…The periodic strategy was better than the reference for winter and spring conditions but was the worst in summer. The results obtained are expected according to the literature [5,6].…”

“…Temporary variation of drying air temperature was proposed as a drying strategy to improve the energy efficiency of the process. Previous works [5,6,9] indicated that low temperature air (20°C) could be used for effective drying in the initial stage of the wall drying process. Higher temperatures were required as surface moisture content decreased to remove the moisture from the deeper parts of the wall [6,[9][10][11].…”

“…Higher temperatures were required as surface moisture content decreased to remove the moisture from the deeper parts of the wall [6,[9][10][11]. According to the literature [5,6], four strategies were considered, i.e., constant temperature (reference), two-phase (jump), stepwise increase, and periodic change -see Figure 2. The upper limit of the drying temperature was assumed to be 60°C, while the lower limit was set at 20°C.…”

“…These problems can be solved by properly drying the building structure and protecting it against water re-penetration [3,4]. However, the drying process is time and energy-consuming [5,6]. It is needed to supply at least 0.7 kWh of heat to remove one kilogram of water from the wall.…”

“…It is needed to supply at least 0.7 kWh of heat to remove one kilogram of water from the wall. Łapka et al [5] investigated the effect of different drying temperatures on the energy consumption of the thermo-injection method on a semi-laboratory scale. A two-phase drying strategy, i.e., ventilation (at low temperature air) and heating (at high temperature), was proposed to optimize the process.…”