This paper describes a current multi-disciplinary UK funded research project aimed at developing a hygrothermal model of house dust mite response to environmental conditions. The project involves the development of a transient hygrothermal bed model, which has been tested and validated by comparing its predictions with the environmental conditions measured in a bed in a test laboratory and in b...

Hemp concrete is more and more recommended by eco-builders because hemp is a renewable plant, recyclable and does not degrade within time. To integrate this material into buildings, it is important to study its hygrothermal behaviour. In this paper, two models have been investigated: a heat transfer model (Th) and a hygrothermal model accounting for heat and moisture transport through building ...

Article history: Received 13 June 2012 Received in revised form 1 June 2013 Accepted 15 June 2013 Available online 17 July 2013 The effect of the different hygrothermal conditions on the shear strength degradation of ACA joints and the difference among them are studied in this paper using experiments and numerical simulations. First of all, several hygrothermal aging tests with different accele...

This paper proposes an intelligent model for realtime control of the hygrothermal behaviour in low energy buildings. Through the management of information related to internal and external conditions combined with the design and context data, the built network lead to assess the correct strategy for an adequate hygrothermal behaviour (choosing between active and passive systems for control of in...

In this article, the effect of hygrothermal aging on mechanical properties of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) and E-glass/epoxy (GE) composites is investigated. First, FML and GE specimens were built using wet lay-up technique under vacuum pressure. Hygrothermal aging simulation was then carried out on both specimen types in distilled water at a constant temperature of 90 °C for 5 weeks. The resul...

In most materials, there exists a coupling effect between heat and moisture during their transient diffusion. In particular, the coupling effect gives a significant change in the distributions of temperature and moisture concentration in some porous materials and resin composites (Chang, et al., 1991). Moreover, it is known that the absorption of moisture by hygroscopic materials under high-tem...

Laminated composite structures operating in a marine environment are subject to moisture ingress. Due to the slow diffusion process of moisture, the distribution of moisture is not uniform so that the laminates can develop hygrothermal stresses. An accurate prediction of the moisture concentration and the associated hygrothermal stress is vital to the understanding of the effect of marine envir...

Composite materials have been used extensively in various applications, such as mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and aviation thanks to their interesting mechanical properties. However, a substantial drawback in the use of such composite materials is that they absorb a significant amount of moisture when exposed to severe hygrothermal conditions. This factor dramatically affects t...

This paper studies the energy behavior of several public heated swimming pools with semi-transparent covers located in southeastern Spain high consumption their air-conditioning installations. The scientific novelty work is to determine influence solar radiation on performance this type building and demonstrate that use passive systems such as natural ventilation control enhance efficiency glaz...

This paper investigates the hygrothermal effects on the failure mechanisms in bending of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Accelerated diffusion testing was carried out by immersion at 50°C constant temperature and 70 bar hydrostatic pressure to study the effects of fresh or sea water diffusion into pre-preg CFRP laminates. Consequently the composite laminates were tested in be...