Possibility to use surface TDR sensors to estimate water absorption coefficient of porous materials

Abstract

One of the main parameters influencing hygro-thermal performance of buildings is moisture in construction materials. The factor that is often used to characterize hygric properties of the materials is water absorption coefficient which allows to describe material capillary behavior as a function of time together with the surface area of specimen. In standard, the value of water absorption coefficient is determined by gravimetric method evaluation according to EN 1925:1999 standard. This article is an approach to indirect evaluation of water absorption coefficient of aerated concrete sample using the non-invasive Time Domain Reflectometry sensor. In parallel to the reflectometric readouts, gravimetric measurement were conducted to evaluate material moisture behavior using the traditional methods. Data obtained using the non-invasive sensor show correlation with standard method of moisture absorptivity coefficient determination.