Candanedo Ibarra, L: Unsaturated water liquid transport in s

As a construction material, wood is used in structural elements and building envelope components such as window frames and cladding. These wooden components are exposed to wetting by rain either directly (cladding) or as a result of a failure (rain infiltration). When the moisture content levels are within a certain range, mold growth and rot can occur, which may be detrimental for the health of the occupants, decrease structural strength and destroy the aesthetic appearance of a building. In the hygroscopic range (vapour phase), a well-developed theory explains the absorption of water in the vapor phase when the relative humidity is withing 0 to 95%. However, liquid mass directional diffusivities of water for many Canadian wood species have not yet been investigated. The main objectives of this study were to quantify averaged values of directional diffusivities for a specific type of wood (jack pine), and to develop a transient modeling approach for liquid-phase water transport in wood considering the orthotropic effect of the wood structure.