Wetting and Drying of External Surfaces with ETICS Systems

Abstract

Moisture is one of the most deteriorating factors of buildings. The deteriorating effect of moisture occurs mainly during the drying phase, and appropriate parameters of the drying kinetics are required for the building materials. Environmental factors, such as air temperature and air humidity affect drying. An experimental campaign was performed to investigate the drying performance of External Thermal Insulation Systems (ETICS). Drying kinetics was examined at three air temperatures, four solar orientations and two different air humidities. A first-order kinetics model was obtained, in which the drying time constant was a function of the drying conditions, and the equilibrium material moisture content was described by several different models, such as linear type, power type, exponential type, Arrhenius type and Logarithmic type. The parameters of the proposed model were found to be affected strongly by the material and the drying air conditions.