An overview of LFC-FEUP recent research on hygric buffering

Abstract

This article describes the recent research conducted at LFC-FEUP on the subject of moisture buffering and itscontribution to the hygroscopic inertia of a room. An extensive experimental campaign complemented withnumerical simulation provided the main results of that research. The characterization of painted renderingsproperties provided a deeper insight on the buffering potential of common finishing solutions. The experimentalassessment of hygroscopic inertia at room level was implemented using a flux chamber designed specifically forthis experiment. A daily hygroscopic inertia index, Ih,d, was defined using MBV as a basis for the assessment ofmaterials contribution to the buffering capacity of a room. The correlation between that index and peakdampening was proved both numerically and experimentally. The benefits of daily hygroscopic inertia wereanalysed with the help of full hygrothermal simulation of a bedroom.KEYWORDS: Moisture Buffering, Hygroscopic Inertia, Experiments, Simulation