Capillary Barrier Effect in an Earthen Roof of Historical House

Abstract

A capillary barrier is a widely used drainage system in recent years. It has been in practice since the end of the 1950s, and research over the past 60 years has provided valuable insight into its safe and economical design. Although capillary barrier application is not an old and traditional technique, it is possible to see its primitive application on earthen roofs of traditional buildings. One of these applications is in the earthen roofs of historical and protected houses in Kemaliye district in eastern Turkey. In this study, the capillary barrier behaviour of the earthen roof system of historical Kemaliye houses, which has existed for centuries, has been experimentally investigated. In this context, soil index properties and water characteristic curves were determined by conducting laboratory experiments on samples taken from the soil roof of a traditional Kemaliye house. In order to examine the capillary barrier behaviour of the roof in precipitation, 1D model infiltration experiments were carried out. In the light of the findings obtained from these experiments, it was concluded that the earthen roofs of traditional Kemaliye houses show varied capillary barrier behaviour depending on the initial conditions of the layers.