Simulations of Moisture Gradients in Wood Subjected to Changes in Relative Humidity and Temperature Due to Climate Change

Charlotta Bylund Melin,Kristina Holl,Vahid M Nik,Carl-Eric Hagentoft,Ralf Kilian

doi:10.3390/geosciences8100378

Abstract

Climate change is a growing threat to cultural heritage buildings and objects. Objects housed in historic buildings are at risk because the indoor environments in these buildings are difficult to control and often influenced by the outdoor climate. Hygroscopic materials, such as wood, will gain and release moisture during changes in relative humidity and temperature. These changes cause swelling and shrinkage, which may result in permanent damage. To increase the knowledge of climate-induced damage to heritage objects, it is essential to monitor moisture transport in wood. Simulation models need to be developed and improved to predict the influence of climate change. In a previous work, relative humidity and temperature was monitored at different depths inside wooden samples subjected to fluctuating climate over time. In this article, two methods, the hygrothermal building simulation software WUFI® Pro and the Simplified model, were compared in relation to the measured data. The conclusion was that both methods can simulate moisture diffusion and transport in wooden object with a sufficient accuracy. Using the two methods for predicted climate change data show that the mean RH inside wood is rather constant, but the RH minimum and maximum vary with the predicted scenario and the type of building used for the simulation.

Highlights

The growing threat of climate change to cultural heritage has gained increasing awareness.The knowledge is due to findings from research projects which aim to predict future climate change and its impact on cultural heritage buildings and the indoor environment in those buildings
The measurements performed in [16] were used to validate the Simplified model and to compare it with WUFI® Pro and the measured data. In these measurements the boundary relative humidity (RH) and temperature vary in intervals of 10 days over a whole period of 100 days
Results.ItItisisbelieved believedthat thatboth bothmethods methodscan canbe beused usedand anddeveloped developedfurther further gave to estimate the impact of altered indoor environments to wooden objects in historic buildings to estimate the impact of altered indoor environments to wooden objects in historic buildings weather conditions)

Summary

Introduction

The growing threat of climate change to cultural heritage has gained increasing awareness. The knowledge is due to findings from research projects which aim to predict future climate change and its impact on cultural heritage buildings and the indoor environment in those buildings. Climate Change Impact on Built Heritage and Cultural Landscapes; Noah’s Ark Project (2004–2007). Geosciences 2018, 8, 378 brought forward the fact that little attention had been paid to the impact of global climate change on cultural heritage and that this needed to be better recognised and perceived as relevant. Strategies for Sustainable Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Times of Climate Change (2009–2014). Studied the impact and mitigation strategies for preservation of cultural heritage in times of climate change. The project developed simulation models to estimate the impact of future global climate change on the indoor environments in different types of buildings in different regions of Europe. Important research projects on improving energy efficiency of historic built heritage include, for instance, Sustainable

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion