Moisture dry-out from steel faced insulated sandwich panels

¹ Tallinn University of Technology, nZEB Research Group, Tallinn, Estonia
² Ruukki Construction Oy (SSAB), Hämeenlinna, Finland
³ Smart City Center of Excellence (Finest Twins), Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn, Estonia

^* Corresponding author: kristo.kalbe@taltech.ee

Abstract

This study analyses moisture dry-out from a steel faced insulated sandwich panel. Three test walls, with lower parts close to the free water level, were studied in a laboratory under different climatic conditions to measure their dry-out capacity and to obtain data for simulation model calibration. The hygrothermal simulations were done with the simulation tool Delphin in stable climatic conditions to determine the magnitude of the moisture dry-out capacity. Comparison of the measured and simulated relative humidity showed sufficiently good agreement. The results indicate that panels of this type have some dry-out capacity under summer and spring climatic conditions (about 2–3 g/day at best) but during autumn and winter their dry-out capacity is limited. In case of a water leakage (e.g. due to rain during the installation of the panels), the moisture dry-out is negligible. To minimise the wetting of insulation, weather protection during construction and during storage is necessary.