Browsing by Subject "moisture"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    The Hygrothermal Performance of Cold Climate Basement Walls Retrofitted with Insulation and a Water Separation Plane
    (2015-06) Harmon, Anna
    This research studies the hygrothermal performance of hollow concrete masonry unit basement walls in cold climates retrofitted with insulation and a water separation plane. Four full-scale wall systems were constructed and instrumented for the research. Wall and soil hygrothermal data was collected in addition to the boundary conditions. The research expands the understanding of the effects of buoyant cavity flow in basement walls, the effects of a high ground water table on thermal transport, and the relationship between soil and wall moisture. The accuracy of a below-grade thermal-only computer simulation was evaluated for predicting the thermal performance of the experimental system. Further, independent simplified calculations were performed to confirm the postulated primary heat loss mechanism in basements with well insulated walls and to explain the non-intuitive thermal observations made.
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    Soil Matric Suction Changes With Time in Pressed Soil Briquettes
    (Water Resources Research Center, University of Minnesota, 1971-05) Fuentes, Victor C.
    Soil metric suctions were measured with time in soil samples in which the water content was varied in a series to obtain information on the processes occurring as stable structural units develop during aging. Soil metric suctions of Clarion loam surface soil were measured by tensiometers. It is concluded that water stability of synthetic soil aggregates increase with time. At flow water contents (0 < 0.258 g/g) there was a rapid decrease in soil metric suction with time after pressing that indicates an increase in the free energy state of water in the system. At higher water contents the rate of decrease in metric suction was smaller. At 0w = 0.258 g/g suction remained constant with time. At water contents over 0.258 g/g soil metric suction increased with time.