The effect of rising damp on heat transfer performance and energy consumption of two kinds of Chinese blue-brick masonry walls

Abstract

Rising damp is common in brick buildings due to groundwater and natural precipitation, which not only causes deterioration of the walls, but also significantly affects the heat transfer coefficient, thermal inertia, and building energy consumption. In order to clarify the effects of rising damp on the heat transfer through traditional Chinese brick solid wall and cavity walls, two types of wall of 1.2 m wide and 3 m high were built in the laboratory. The heat transfer performance under the influence of capillary rising was tested by Simple heating box – heat flow meter method. Based on the data obtained from the experiment, the Energyplus was used to simulate the energy consumption of a Chinese typical residential building influenced by rising damp. The results proposed 3.67 W/m2·K and 3.61 W/m2·K as the recommended heat transfer coefficient for the moisture affected parts in the experimental solid and cavity wall, and the rising capillary water increased the heat transfer coefficients by 74% and 84%, respectively. The heating and cooling load of the solid-wall building under the influence of capillary water increased by 18.5% and 29.6%, respectively, while of cavity-walls building increased by 6.5% and 11.8%.