Assessment of Deterioration Risk of the Wooden Columns of Historical Buildings in Southern China Based on HAM Transfer Model

Abstract

Chinese historical buildings are mainly made of wood structure system, however, as an organic material, wood is prone to decay under the fluctuation of hygrothermal environment. This study aims to assess the risk of decay of two types of wooden columns (exposed column under eaves and semi-exposed column embedded in walls) and further propose reasonable protection measures for Nanjing area where with a hot and humid summer and cold winter and with a high groundwater level. A two-dimensional heat and moisture (HAM) transfer model is established to simulate the fluctuations of temperature and moisture content at the bottom of columns in a historical Chinese building. Then, the risk of decay of columns was evaluated. The results show that because the stone column base isolates the groundwater and the amount of air condensation is limited, the risk of decay at the bottom of the exposed column under the eaves is lower than the semi-exposed column embedded in wall which is more prone to be affected by the high level of groundwater.