TY - JOUR A1 - Brinkmann, M. A1 - Wiehle, Philipp T1 - Correlation between relative humidity and the strength and deformation characteristics of unstabilised earth masonry N2 - The mechanical properties of unstabilised earthen building materials are distinctively influenced by changes in material moisture content. However, this moisture-dependency often remains unconsidered in the calculation of the load-bearing capacity of earth constructions. This paper aims to derive a convenient way to sufficiently consider the impact of different material moisture contents on the mechanical properties of unstabilised earth masonry. Therefore, the influence of relative humidity and temperature on the strength and deformation characteristics of unstabilised earth blocks, earth mortar and earth masonry is evaluated by conducting compression tests under various climate conditions. The results show that the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity are linearly correlated with the relative humidity, whereas changes in temperature at constant relative humidity have no significant influence. To account the distinct moisture-dependency, a general applicable modification factor for unstabilised earthen materials is provided, which enables the adjustment of the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity in dependency of arbitrary hygroscopic material moisture contents. KW - Earth masonry KW - Earth blocks KW - Relative humidity KW - Modulus of elasticity KW - Moisture KW - Compressive strength KW - Stress–strain-relation PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.130048 SN - 0950-0618 VL - 366 IS - 22 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier BV AN - OPUS4-56732 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Stolpe, Heiko A1 - Wiehle, Philipp T1 - Moisture diffusion affected by the Knudsen effect in temporal changing pore networks N2 - Almost all building materials in civil engineering have an open porosity and interact with or are affected by the environmental conditions. Structures might suffer from effects such as moisture adsorption, carbonation, corrosion, penetration of salt ions and chemical substances, etc. In the hygroscopic range, these processes are mostly driven by diffusion. Due to the confinement of small pores (< 1 µm), the Knudsen effect reduces the molecular diffusion. This reduction can become more significant in case of temporal changing pore systems because of physisorption of water vapor, carbonation, or chemisorption. In this study, unstabilised earth blocks and earth masonry are investigated. In a first step, the pore size distribution of the blocks is measured and sorption isotherms are recorded in experiments. Besides the ordinary physisorption, the involved clay minerals undergo swelling or shrinking due to chemisorption. The following two effects must be considered: first, the reduction of the available pore space by the adsorbed water layer. For this, the Hillerborg sorption theory is used, which is a combination of the well-known Brunauer-Emmett-Teller sorption theory and the Kelvin equation. This allows the computation of adsorbed water layers even in curved pore geometries. Second, the variation of the initial pore size distribution due to chemisorption needs to be modelled. Based on these two models, the effective diffusion coefficient can be predicted. For validation, arrays of relative humidity sensors were embedded into a free-standing earth masonry wall. This monitoring was carried out over more than a year to have a broad variety of environmental conditions and was located in Berlin, Germany. The prediction of the effective diffusion coefficient can also be transferred to other processes and allows the investigation of materials having temporarily changing pore systems. Examples are the carbonation of cementitious materials, alkali silica reaction, calcium leaching of long-lasting structures, etc. This effect becomes most prominent in the meso-pore range and might alter the effective diffusion coefficient by more than 100 %. T2 - 4th International Congress on Materials & Structural Stability CY - Rabat, Morocco DA - 08.03.2023 KW - Earth masonry KW - Material moisture KW - Molecular diffusion KW - Chemisoprtion KW - Knudsen effect KW - Physisorption PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-571391 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - RILEM CY - Champs-sur-Marne AN - OPUS4-57139 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiehle, Philipp A1 - Baier, Johanna A1 - Thiele, Marc T1 - Structural Design of Earth Masonry in Accordance with Eurocode 6 – Considering Moisture Content and E/fk Ratio N2 - The load‐bearing behaviour of earth masonry is similar to conventional masonry, with two key differences: compressive strength and Young's modulus are dependent on moisture content, and the ratio between Young's modulus and characteristic compressive strength (E/fk) is significantly lower. The current design concept according to the Lehmbau Regeln does not explicitly address these factors, relying instead on a general safety margin, leading to an underestimation of the load‐bearing capacity of modern earth masonry.Compression tests on small‐scale masonry specimens and storey‐high walls revealed that compressive strength and Young's modulus decrease inversely proportional to the increase in relative humidity. Additionally, it was found that conventional masonry design guidelines overestimate the buckling resistance of earth masonry due to its low E/fk ratio of ∼440. However, this ratio remains independent of moisture content, simplifying structural design, as the load‐bearing capacity is only influenced by wall slenderness.The study's findings form the foundation for the newly published German design standard DIN 18940, which explicitly considers moisture content through service classes with moisture factors and addresses the low E/fk ratio with a bilinear adaptation of the reduction factor considering the slenderness. Along with the introduction of the semi‐probabilistic design concept and rigid‐plastic determination of cross‐sectional load‐bearing capacity, modern earth masonry can now be applied in buildings up to four storeys. T2 - Earth Builder Summit CY - Biberach, Germany DA - 06.03.2025 KW - Service class KW - Earth masonry KW - Structural design KW - Moisture PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-637803 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/cepa.3287 SN - 2509-7075 VL - 8 IS - 1 SP - 9 EP - 21 PB - Ernst & Sohn GmbH AN - OPUS4-63780 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph T1 - Moisture diffusion affected by the Knudsen effect in temporal changing pore networks N2 - Almost all building materials in civil engineering have an open porosity and interact with or are affected by the environmental conditions. Structures might suffer from effects such as moisture adsorption, carbonation, corrosion, penetration of salt ions and chemical substances, etc. In the hygroscopic range, these processes are mostly driven by diffusion. Due to the confinement of small pores ( 1 m), the Knudsen effect reduces the molecular diffusion. This reduction can become more significant in case of temporal changing pore systems because of physisorption of water vapor, carbonation, or chemisorption. In this study, unstabilised earth blocks and earth masonry are investigated. In a first step, the pore size distribution of the blocks is measured and sorption isotherms are recorded in experiments. Besides the ordinary physisorption, the involved clay minerals undergo swelling or shrinking due to chemisorption. The following two effects must be considered: first, the reduction of the available pore space by the adsorbed water layer. For this, the Hillerborg sorption theory is used, which is a combination of the well-known Brunauer-Emmett-Teller sorption theory and the Kelvin equation. This allows the computation of adsorbed water layers even in curved pore geometries. Second, the variation of the initial pore size distribution due to chemisorption needs to be modelled. Based on these two models, the effective diffusion coefficient can be predicted. For validation, arrays of relative humidity sensors were embedded into a free-standing earth masonry wall. This monitoring was carried out over more than a year to have a broad variety of environmental conditions and was located in Berlin, Germany. The prediction of the effective diffusion coefficient can also be transferred to other processes and allows the investigation of materials having temporarily changing pore systems. Examples are the carbonation of cementitious materials, alkali silica reaction, calcium leaching of long-lasting structures, etc. This effect becomes most prominent in the meso-pore range and might alter the effective diffusion coefficient by more than 100 %. T2 - 4th International Congress on Materials & Structural Stability CY - Rabat, Morocco DA - 08.03.2023 KW - Earth masonry KW - Material moisture KW - Molecular diffusion KW - Chemisoprtion KW - Knudsen effect KW - Physisorption PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57140 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Wiehle, Philipp T1 - Closure of "Quantification of moisture content in earth block masonry under natural climatic conditions" N2 - In January 2025, the research paper “Quantification of moisture content in earth block masonry under natural climatic conditions” was published in Construction and Building Materials. The central theme was the moisture monitoring of a masonry wall made of unstabilised earth blocks over a period of around 18 months. The experimental results were compared to WUFI simulations, and the moisture transport in layered wall constructions was eventually studied in WUFI. Prof. Janssen discussed this publication in Construction and Building Materials. He raised concerns about the experiments and modelling of moisture transport. In this closure, the capillary adsorption coefficient was recalculated, and deviations from the initial value were quantified. Sensitivity analyses were conducted in WUFI to evaluate the influence of different water vapour resistances and water adsorption coefficients. The resulting moisture transport was then compared to material moisture profiles measured using 1H NMR relaxometry. Finally, the water adsorption behaviour of different earth materials is discussed in respect to material moisture and corresponding relative humidity. KW - Earth masonry KW - Moisture transport KW - Capillary water absorption KW - Embedded humidity sensors KW - NMR KW - WUFI KW - Material moisture KW - Water vapour diffusion resistance KW - Sustainable building materials PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-637569 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.142552 SN - 0950-0618 VL - 491 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -