The distribution and transport of water in oil paintings: A numerical moisture diffusion model

Oil paintings are complex, multi-layered systems that are prone to chemical degradation. While it is increasingly recognised that water plays an important role in these degradation reactions, little is known about moisture concentrations in oil paint systems and their temporal variation in response to fluctuating ambient air humidity. This...

Competitive and Cooperative CO₂-H₂O Adsorption through Humidity Control in a Polyimide Covalent Organic Framework

In order to capture and separate CO2 from the air or flue gas streams through nanoporous adsorbents, the influence of the humidity in these streams has to be taken into account as it hampers the capture process in two main ways: (1) water preferentially binds to CO2 adsorption sites and lowers the overall capacity, and (2) water causes...

Manufacturing of an In-Package Relative Humidity Sensor for Epoxy Molding Compound Packages

This study presents the design and fabrication of an in-package relative humidity sensor for epoxy molding compound (EMC) packages. The sensor comprises shielded interdigital electrodes (SIDE) for in-situ monitoring of humidity absorption/desorption in the package encapsulation layer. A novel approach is employed in the device fabrication to...

Drying shrinkage of alkali-activated concrete -State-of-the-art: a research study into the mechanisms, the influencing factors, and mitigation strategies of drying shrinkage of alkali-activated concrete

Alkali-activated concrete (AAC) has emerged as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional concrete, as It is a cement-free concrete made by activating precursors (mainly low-cost, low-CO2 industrial by-products) with alkalis. AAC has demonstrated some remarkable mechanical properties and long-term performance (e.g., high strength,...

Evaluation of High Capacity Hygroscopic Materials on Air Conditions and Energy Performance in Renovated Historic Buildings: A Case Study in the National Holocaust Museum, Amsterdam

Managing climate in museums is always a challenging task since it should meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, namely the conservation of collections, the comfort of visitors, and the protection of historic buildings. The relative humidity is one of the most crucial parameters in this management process, and it is controlled by passive design...

Dependence of unsaturated chloride diffusion on the pore structure in cementitious materials

Conceptual analysis is performed to examine the effects of pore features on the water continuity in unsaturated porous systems. The roles of pore features in relative chloride diffusion coefficient (D_rc) of mortar specimens at various degrees of water saturation (S_w) were studied based on mercury intrusion porosimetry...

Effect of relative humidity on drying-induced damage in concrete: A comparative study of digital image correlation and lattice modelling

To assess the effect of relative humidity (RH) on drying-induced damage in concrete, the non-uniform strains and microcracks in concrete under different RH conditions were obtained using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique and lattice fracture model. The simulated non-uniform displacements were consistent with those captured using...

Towards the ambient aerosol extinction from dried aerosol in situ observations

Accurate predictions of the extinction and scattering properties of the atmosphere are important for climate research and interpreting satellite data. This study introduces a model (called the H-model) that calculates the scattering coefficients and scattering enhancement factors based on in situ measurements of the dried ambient aerosol. A...

Convective cloud parameterization: Evaluation of the mass-flux approach through observations

In the context of climate modelling, convective clouds in tropical regions play a major role in determining the climate sensitivity. The vertical transport of mass and energy associated with this type of clouds is often represented with so called mass-flux parameterization schemes. In this work the aim is to evaluate the relationship between...

Carbonation mechanism of alkali-activated fly ash and slag materials: In view of long-term performance predictions

As the building sector is expanding, a growing interest in technologies that can reduce the CO2 emission from concrete production has led to partial replacement of cement with by-products from various industrial processes. Besides the partial replacement of cement, development of alkali activation technology ensures full replacement of cement in...

Microstructure-based relative humidity in cementitious system due to self-desiccation

The internal relative humidity (RH) plays a crucial role in most of the concrete properties. Self-desiccation caused by continuous cement hydration is a major factor affecting the RH of concrete. This paper investigates the relationship between RH and microstructure for cementitious systems in the case of self-desiccation. A series of paste...

Non-saturated Chloride Diffusion in Sustainable Cementitious Materials

Chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion, caused by chloride diffusion in the unsaturated concrete cover, is a major durability problem of concrete structures. Current concepts for concrete mixture design and for service life prediction are generally based on the understanding of the chloride diffusion coefficient of saturated concrete. This...

Exploring the relationship between relative humidity and aerosol attenuated backscatter ratio: Geoscience & Remote Sensing

Clouds and aerosols continue to contribute to the largest uncertainty to estimates and interpretations of the Earth's changing energy budget. By comparing relative humidity (RH) and attenuated backscatter ratio (ATB) data and deriving scattering hygroscopic enhancement factors at the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Physics Research ...

Examining the “time-zero” of autogenous shrinkage in high/ultra-high performance cement pastes

The term “Time-zero”, i.e., the time for the start of autogenous shrinkage measurement, is usually used for estimating the cracking potential of structural components. Accurate determination of the “time-zero” is therefore critical for autogenous shrinkage measurement, which is the main objective of this study. There is a general agreement...