• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.7 no.1 s.23
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• pp.31-38
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• 2005

Concrete has higher vapor pressure than its surrounding ambient air immediately after placement. Moisture at concrete surface evaporates to the ambient air to adjust equilibrium of the vapor pressure between them. The moisture inside the concrete moves to the surface because the evaporation at the surface causes gradient of vapor pressure inside the concrete. Plastic cracking, degree of hydration, strength development, and others caused by velocity of the moisture movement significantly influences quality of concrete. In this paper, the moisture diffusivity of early-age concrete was back-calculated using governing equation of the moisture diffusion, and temperature and relative humidity of concrete measured in a laboratory. The moisture diffusivity of the concrete was modeled using the back-calculated moisture diffusivity. The relative humidity of the concrete calculated by finite element method (FEM) using the modeled moisture diffusivity as Input data coincided with the measured relative humidity well.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.296-302
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• 2008

The effective moisture diffusivity and its dependence on drying temperature during drying of rapeseed were experimentally investigated. The data were recorded from thin layer drying experiments at nine different combinations of drying air temperatures of 40, 50, and $60^{\circ}C$ and the relative humidities of 30, 45, and 60%. The moisture diffusion equation was analyzed using stepwise multiple regression analysis. Effective moisture diffusivities were calculated based on the moisture diffusion equation for a spherical shape using Fick's second law. The effective diffusivities during the drying of rapeseed were $l.72{\times}10^{-11}$, $2.41{\times}10^{-11}$ and $3.31{\times}10^{-11}\;m^2{\cdot}s^{-1}$ at 40, 50 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. The activation energy for moisture diffusion during drying was $28.47\;kJ{\cdot}mol^{-1}$. The dependence of moisture diffusivity on temperature was described by an Arrhenius-type equation. Drying occurred in the falling rate period and the internal moisture diffusion phenomenon is the governing physical mechanism of the moisture movement in the particles.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2009

Although the exterior wood such as column may frequently contact with liquid water, little work has been found to measure liquid water absorption in wood. To investigate the moisture diffusivity of wood in the longitudinal direction including bound water and free water movement, liquid water absorption test was conducted at the room temperature. The order of magnitude for absorption coefficient and diffusivity was Japanese elm, horn beam, hemlock, spruce, radiata pine, and painted maple. The Boltzmann transformation method was used to determine the diffusivity from measured moisture content distributions in the absorption test. The shape of the curve representing the dependence of diffusivity with moisture content was similar in test samples. The diffusivity decreased with increasing moisture content until around the fiber saturation point and then increased at the nonhygroscopic region, which ranged from $10^{-10}$ to $10^{-7}m^2/s$.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.775-793
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• 2015

Moisture transport in concrete in atmospheric environment was studied in this paper. Based on the simplified formula of the thickness of the adsorbed layer, the pore-size distribution function of cement paste was calculated utilizing the water adsorption isotherms. Taking into consideration of the hysteresis effect in cement paste, the moisture diffusivity of cement paste was obtained by the integration of the pore-size distribution. Concrete is regarded as a two-phase composite with cement paste and aggregate, neglecting the moisture diffusivity of aggregate, then moisture diffusivity of concrete was evaluated using the composite theory. Finally, numerical simulation of humidity response during both wetting and drying process was carried out by the finite difference method of partial differential equation for moisture transport, and the numerical results well capture the trend of the measured data.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1151-1158
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• 2013

Knowledge of the moisture sorption properties of a material is essential for optimal material development and analysis of the delamination failure caused by vapor pressure at the interlayer during the manufacturing process of integrated packaging devices. In this paper, both temperature dependent absorption and desorption properties according to temperature and humidity model are parameterized and the effects of water activities and temperature are discussed. The activation energy obtained from the parameterized diffusivity determines the acceleration factor for the equivalency of moisture sorption levels, which enables the effect of moisture diffusivity on the equivalent elapsed testing time required for evaluating the reliable life time to be estimated. The acceleration factor evaluated at the reliability testing standard of the flexible packaging module is exampled.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.342-356
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• 2016

Purpose: The drying of a thin layer of native cassava starch in a tray dryer was modeled to establish an equation for predicting the drying behavior under given conditions. Methods: Drying tests were performed using samples of native cassava starch over a temperature range of $40-60^{\circ}C$. We investigated the variation in the drying time, dynamic equilibrium moisture content, drying rate period, critical moisture content, and effective diffusivity of the starch with temperature. The starch diffusion coefficient and drying activation energy were determined. A modification of the model developed by Hii et al. was devised and tested alongside fourteen other models. Results: For starch with an initial moisture content of 82% (db), the drying time and dynamic equilibrium moisture content decreased as the temperature increased. The constant drying rate phase preceded the falling rate phase between $40-55^{\circ}C$. Drying at $60^{\circ}C$ occurred only in the falling rate phase. The critical moisture content was observed in the $40-55^{\circ}C$ range and increased with the temperature. The effective diffusivity of the starch increased as the drying temperature increased from 40 to $60^{\circ}C$. The modified Hii et al. model produced randomized residual plots, the highest $R^2$, and the lowest standard error of estimates. Conclusions: Drying time decreased linearly with an increase in the temperature, while the decrease in the moisture content was linear between $40-55^{\circ}C$. The constant drying rate phase occurred without any period of induction over a temperature range of $40-55^{\circ}C$ prior to the falling rate period, while drying at $60^{\circ}C$ took place only in the falling rate phase. The effective diffusivity had an Arrhenius relationship with the temperature. The modified Hii et al. model proved to be optimum for predicting the drying behavior of the starch in the tray dryer.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.3 no.2_3
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• pp.103-122
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• 2006

Drying shrinkage of concrete occurs due to the loss of moisture and thus, it is controlled by moisture diffusion process. On the other hand, the shrinkage causes cracking of concrete and affects its moisture diffusion properties. Therefore, moisture diffusion and drying shrinkage are two coupled processes and their interactive effect is important for the durability of concrete structures. In this paper, the two material parameters in the moisture diffusion equation, i.e., the moisture capacity and humidity diffusivity, are modified by two different methods to include the effect of drying shrinkage on the moisture diffusion. The effect of drying shrinkage on the humidity diffusivity is introduced by the scalar damage parameter. The effect of drying shrinkage on the moisture capacity is evaluated by an analytical model based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics and minimum potential energy principle for a two-phase composite. The mechanical part of drying shrinkage is modeled as an elastoplastic damage problem. The coupled problem of moisture diffusion and drying shrinkage is solved using a finite element method. The present model can predict that the drying shrinkage accelerates the moisture diffusion in concrete, and in turn, the accelerated drying process increases the shrinkage strain. The coupling effects are demonstrated by a numerical example.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.359-372
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• 2008

The moisture absorption behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and its effect on dimensional stability were examined. Moisture diffusivity in CFRP was determined by measuring a specimen's weight during the moisture absorption test. Three types of CFRP specimens were prepared: a unidirectionally reinforced laminate, a quasi-isotropic laminate and woven fabric. Each CFRP was processed into two geometries - a thin plate for determination of diffusivity and a rod with a square cross-section for the discussion of two-dimensional diffusion behavior. By solving Fick's law expanded to 3 dimensions, the diffusivities in the three orthogonal directions were obtained and analyzed in terms of the anisotropy of CFRP moisture diffusion. Coefficients of moisture expansion (CMEs) were also obtained from specimen deformation caused by moisture absorption. During moisture absorption, the specimen surfaces showed larger deformation near the edges due to the distribution of moisture contents. This deformation was reasonably predicted by the finite element analysis using experimentally determined diffusivities and CMEs. For unidirectional CFRP, the effect of the fiber alignment on CME was analyzed by micromechanical finite element analysis (FEA) and discussed.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 1986

The model foods similar to general Korean foods were prepared by combining starch, protein and moisture, and relationship between their thermal diffusivities and components were investigated. Thermal diffusivity of the model foods tended to be proportional with the moisture content. Under the same level of moisture content of the model foods, thermal diffusivity of the starch foods was higher than that of the protein foods, but no interaction among components was found. The measured values was quite agreed upon with the calculated values with 3.60 residual percent. The regression equations between thermal diffusivity and moisture, protein and starch contents at $20^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$ were ${\alpha}20^{\circ}C$ = 0.04911M+0.37355P+3.73072, ${\alpha}60^{\circ}C$ = 0.05353M-0.4766P+4.15136, respectively. The correlation coefficients obtained according to the above equation were $0.9650^{**}$ and $20^{\circ}C$ and $0.9002^{**}$ at $60^{\circ}C$.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.1297-1303
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• 2012

In this paper, the standard procedures for measuring the moisture sorption properties of thin polymeric materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by using the thermo-gravimetric method to characterize the moisture diffusion in the polymer are presented, and the sorption properties are quantified. The moisture diffusivity and solubility are characterized to investigate the effect of temperature and humidity on the moisture sorption properties according to the Arrhenius equation. The validation of the obtained sorption properties using thermogravimetry is discussed with the measured permeability based on Fickian diffusion. The nonlinear behavior of the concentration dependent moisture diffusion is investigated experimentally, and the nonlinearity is characterized numerically for the case of having an interface with an inorganic material such as a metal. The Fickian/Non-Fickian model based on the obtained moisture sorption properties is compared and discussed.