Suitability of time domain reflectometry (TDR) for moisture content monitoring in historic building walls

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2019

Authors

Ana Sofia Guimarães (Author) FEUP; Teresa Stingl Freitas (Author) Other; Vasco Peixoto de Freitas (Author) FEUP

Conference proceedings International

Title: 4TH CENTRAL EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON BUILDING PHYSICS (CESBP 2019)

Pages: 1-6

4th Central European Symposium on Building Physics (CESBP)

Czech Tech Univ Prague, Fac Civil Engn, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC, SEP 02-05, 2019

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-MD8

DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/201928202051

Abstract (EN): Measuring moisture content in building materials is crucial for the correct diagnosis of buildings pathologies, for the adoption of appropriate intervention measures and for the efficiency evaluation of the treatment solutions applied. There are several different techniques available to measure and monitoring the moisture content in building materials. However, it still remains a great challenge to perform those studies in historical buildings, since minor-destructive techniques are required. Furthermore, if continuous moisture content readings in space are desired, in order to study the moisture transfer phenomenon along the wall thickness, the challenge is even greater. The TDR technique is a relatively new method for measurement of moisture content in building materials with a set of unexplored potentialities capable of satisfying the two mentioned requirements. In this paper, the suitability of the TDR technique to obtain continuous cross-section moisture content profiles has started to be tested on two limestone prototype walls. Each wall was equipped with four TDR probes, designed practically with the same length of the wall thickness and placed at different heights. All the necessary equipment, installation steps, and difficulties are here presented. The preliminary results suggest that the TDR technique is suitable for moisture content monitoring in consolidated porous building materials.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6