Assessment of Heat and Mass Transfers in Building Porous Materials

Heat and mass transfers in building materials influence the thermal properties and performances ofthe materials more especially as they are porous. This paper deals with the case of various porousbuilding materials (Aerated Autoclaved Concrete, Hemp Concrete and Vertically Perforated Brick)studied by an experimental approach. A cell of exchange makes it possible to impose on a sample,gradients of temperature and relative humidity variables as function of time. The performances ofthese materials are thus deduced from the evolution of T and %RH in several positions. It is shownthat the hygrothermal behaviour of the hemp concrete is distinguished from the others materials.