Moisture transport in building materials with imperfect hydraulic contact interfaces

Based on the experimental results and predictions of a numerical model, the effects of uncertainty in estimation of imperfection of the interface on moisture transport were studied in the present study. It was found that, even though the imperfection of the interface varied with moisture content during the wetting process, the prediction using a constant resistance of the interface was close to that using an actual value. Through comparing the predictions using accurately determined resistance of the interface to that using resistance with error up to 70%, it was concluded that, in order to achieve acceptable predictions, it is necessary to control the uncertainty in resistance of the imperfect hydraulic contact interface within 20% of the actual value.