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Numerical simulation study on the hygrothermal performance of building exterior walls under dynamic wind-driven rain condition

  • Research Article
  • Building Thermal, Lighting, and Acoustics Modeling
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Abstract

Wind-driven rain (WDR) has a significant influence on the hygrothermal performance, durability, and energy consumption of building components. The calculation of WDR loads using semi-empirical models has been incorporated into the boundary conditions of coupled heat and moisture transfer models. However, prior research often relied on fixed WDR absorption ratio, which fail to accurately capture the water absorption characteristics of porous building materials under rainfall scenarios. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the coupled heat and moisture transfer of exterior walls under dynamic WDR boundary conditions, utilizing an empirically obtained WDR absorption ratio model based on field measurements. The developed coupled heat and moisture transfer model is validated against the HAMSTAD project. The findings reveal that the total WDR flux calculated with the dynamic WDR boundary is lower than that obtained with the fixed WDR boundary, with greater disparities observed in orientations experiencing higher WDR loads. The variations in moisture flow significantly impact the surface temperature and relative humidity of the walls, influencing the calculation of cooling and heating loads by different models. Compared to the transient heat transfer model, the coupled heat and moisture transfer model incorporating dynamic WDR boundary exhibits maximum increases of 17.6% and 16.2% in cooling and heating loads, respectively. The dynamic WDR boundary conditions provide more precise numerical values for surface moisture flux, offering valuable insights for the thermal design of building enclosures and load calculations for HVAC systems.

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Abbreviations

c p,l :

specific heat capacity of liquid water (J/(kg·K))

c p,m :

specific heat capacity of material in dry state (J/(kg·K))

c p,v :

specific heat capacity of water vapor (J/(kg·K))

D w :

liquid diffusivity (m2/s)

g e :

total moisture flow rate at outer surface of the wall (kg/(m2·s))

g v, g l :

moisture flow rate in vapor/liquid phase (kg/(m2·s))

g v,e :

vapor flow rate at outer surface of the wall (kg/(m2·s))

g v,i :

vapor flow rate at inner surface of the wall (kg/(m2·s))

g WDR :

WDR load (kg/(m2·s))

H :

total enthalpy (J/m3)

h e :

outdoor convective heat exchange coefficient (W/(m2·K))

h i :

indoor convective heat exchange coefficient (W/(m2·K))

H m, H w :

enthalpy of the building material/moisture (J/m3)

L V :

latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)

p sat :

partial pressure of saturated water vapor (Pa)

p suf,e :

partial water vapor pressure at outer surface of the wall (Pa)

p suf,i :

partial water vapor pressure at inner surface of the wall (Pa)

p v :

partial pressure of water vapor (Pa)

p v,e :

partial water vapor pressure of outdoor air (Pa)

p v,i :

partial water vapor pressure of indoor air (Pa)

q :

flow of heat conduction (W/m2)

q e :

heat flux at outer surface of the wall (W/m2)

q i :

heat flux at inner surface of the wall (W/m2)

q sol,n :

solar radiation flux normal to the outer surface of the wall (W/m2)

S :

saturation degree (—)

S h :

heat source or sink (W/m3)

T :

temperature (K)

T e :

temperature of outdoor air (K)

T i :

temperature of indoor air (K)

T suf,e :

temperature at outer surface of the wall (K)

T suf,i :

temperature at inner surface of the wall (K)

v :

wind speed (m/s)

w :

moisture content mass by volume (kg/m3)

WDRc:

cumulative WDR load in a rainfall event (mm)

α :

solar radiation absorption rate (—)

β e :

outdoor convective mass exchange coefficient (kg/(m2·s·Pa))

β i :

indoor convective mass exchange coefficient (kg/(m2·s·Pa))

δ p :

water vapor permeability (s)

ε :

WDR absorption ratio (—)

λ :

thermal conductivity of the material (W/(m·K))

ξ :

slope of sorption isotherms (kg/m3)

ρ m :

dry density of the material (kg/m3)

φ :

relative humidity (—)

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was financially supported by the Shanghai Municipality Natural Science Foundation (No. 21ZR1434400).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xing Hu, Huibo Zhang & Hui Yu

Authors
  1. Xing Hu
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  2. Huibo Zhang
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  3. Hui Yu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Xing Hu, Huibo Zhang and Hui Yu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xing Hu and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huibo Zhang.

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Hu, X., Zhang, H. & Yu, H. Numerical simulation study on the hygrothermal performance of building exterior walls under dynamic wind-driven rain condition. Build. Simul. 17, 207–221 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-1076-3

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