Numerical modelling and experimental study of heat and moisture properties of a wall based on date palm fibers concrete

Abstract

In the present paper, we study with both experimental and numerical aspect the heat and moisture transfer properties of a wall based on concrete filled with the natural fibers. The wall was placed in climatic chamber and temperature and relative humidity were monitored at different depths. A developed model describing heat and moisture transfers in porous building materials was implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics and solved with the finite element method. The obtained results are compared with experimental data. A relatively good agreement was obtained for both temperature and relative humidity variation at different depths. Finally, the developed model gives almost a good prediction despite the classical difficulties encountered at the experiment, which is very promising for the prediction of the hygrothermal behavior of bio-based building materials at different conditions.