Understanding how moisture moves through porous construction materials is key to predicting their durability, energy performance, and real-world behavior. Yet current methods for measuring moisture diffusivity are slow, complex, and are mostly limited to specialized labs. This represents an obstacle in the development of new, high-performance materials for sustainable construction.
To address this, researchers at the Universidad del País Vasco (EHU) have created a dynamic testing method that fully characterizes moisture diffusivity in a single experiment. It shortens testing time, simplifies sample preparation, and yields highly reproducible results, enabling faster, more reliable evaluation of materials such as mortars, bricks, insulation, and coatings.
The technology is a dynamic testing method that determines moisture diffusivity in porous materials with a single experiment. It combines controlled vapor and liquid exposure with real-time mass monitoring to characterize moisture transport across the full hygroscopic and over-hygroscopic ranges. Using a precision balance, programmable humidity chamber, and dedicated data-processing algorithms, it removes the need for multiple tests and long equilibration times, delivering a simplified, reproducible workflow and comprehensive insight into materials’ hygrothermal behavior.
Benefits of this technology:
- Saves time and costs by capturing all moisture transport stages (liquid and vapor phases) in a single experiment with simplified sample preparation, eliminating multiple independent tests and complex setups.
- Delivers higher reproducibility and reliability compared to conventional gravimetric or steady-state techniques.
- Provides comprehensive moisture diffusivity and sorption data across the full hygroscopic and over-hygroscopic ranges for diverse porous materials, including innovative sustainable building materials like mortars, insulators, and composites.
The represented institution is looking for a collaboration that leads to a commercial exploitation of the presented invention.
Institution: ENEDI Research Group (Energy in Buildings) from the Universidad del País Vasco (EHU).
TRL: The technology has reached a laboratory-validated prototype stage (TRL 4–5), demonstrating technical feasibility and readiness for industrial adaptation.
Protection Status: The technology is protected under a patent.
Contacto: Ana Carlota de la Cruz Abad / a.cruz@viromii.com