The effect of micro air movement on the heat and moisture characteristics of building constructions

The research focuses on the effect of air movement through building constructions. Although the typical air movement inside building constructions is quite small (velocity is of order ~10-5 m/s), this research shows the impact on the heat and moisture characteristics. The paper presents a case study on the modeling and simulation of 2D heat and moisture transport with and without air movement for a building construction using a state-of-art multiphysics FEM software tool. Most other heat and moisture related models don’t include airflow or use a steady airflow through the construction during the simulation period. However, in this model, the wind induced pressure is dynamic and thus also the airflow through the construction is dynamic. For this particular case study, the results indicate that at the internal surface, the vapor pressure is almost not influenced by both the 2D effect and the wind speed. The temperatures at the inner surface are mostly influenced by the 2D effect. Only at wind pressure differences above 30 Pa, the airflow has a significant effect. At the external surface, the temperatures are not influenced by both the 2D effect and the wind speed. However, the vapor pressure seems to be quite dependent on the wind induced pressure. Overall it is concluded that air movement through building materials seems to have a significant impact on the heat and moisture characteristics. In order to verify this statement and validate the models, new in-depth experiments including air flow through materials are recommended.