Record Detail

The problem of moisture damage in buildings has attracted interest
from the early days of the last century, but it was only with the development
of hygrothermal modelling that the general topic of moisture transport in buildings
became the subject of more systematic study. Today, the evaluation of the risk
of interstitial condensation in building envelope components can benefi t from
models of different complexity levels. This article starts with the analysis of
the main material properties applied in the models that can tackle interstitial
condensation, regarding standardization and experimental evaluation. Additionally,
two commercial programmes that support two different levels of complexity
of interstitial condensation analysis are compared: the more complex WUFI 4.2
and the simpler Condensa 13788. The comparison of both programmes uses a
brick wall with interior insulation. The results of this exercise allow for conclusions
on the applicability of the models in view of material properties availability.