Uniform Model for Moisture Transport in Porous Materials and Its Application to Concrete at Selected Chinese Regions
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 6
Abstract
The present study investigates the mechanisms of moisture transport in porous materials. For partially saturated porous materials, moisture transport relies on both the Darcian flow by capillary pressure gradient and the Fickian flow by gas concentration gradient. Taking into account the capillary curves that are associated intimately with the pore structure and play crucial roles on both drying and wetting processes, a uniform model that only depends on one variable, the saturation degree, is established. The isothermal adsorption/desorption method and the Kelvin equation are used to evaluate the capillary curve that obeys the van Genuchten form equation. The established model is applied to characterize the moisture distribution in four (near) coastal regions of China (Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, and Shenyan). Wetting time is shown to be a dominant factor influencing the stable saturation degree and the influence depth.
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Acknowledgments
The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50978144). Dr. Qiang Zeng also thanks the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation for its general financial grant (No.2012M520288).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 6 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 17, 2013
Accepted: Jul 9, 2013
Published online: Jul 11, 2013
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 20, 2014
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