Thermo-migration of moisture in Norway spruce assessed by in-situ micro-tomography

•Thermo-migration of water in wood investigated by in-situ micro-CT imaging.•An original setup was conceived to maintain the temperature gap during CT scanning.•The analysed scans show the dynamics of moisture migration from hot to cold sides.•Above the FSP point, liquid water appears close to the coldside as localized spots.•Simulations prove that the vapor density gradient is the relevant driving force. Wood used as a building material is exposed to non-isothermal and unsteady state conditions involving coupled heat and mass transfer within the porous media. These exchanges contribute to the regulation of relative humidity in a passive way and influence the energy performance of buildings. In order to characterize the importance of the hygrothermal behaviour of softwoods in this context, an experimental setup was developed to access to moisture fluxes and/or moisture content profiles in the presence of a known temperature difference imposed on both sides of the wood sample. This original setup was conceived to maintain the temperature gap during micro-tomography acquisition. Image processing allows the moisture content profiles to be obtained over time after changes of the thermal gradient. The simulation using a computational model of coupled heat and mass transfer confirmed that the gradient of vapor density is a relevant unique, “synthetic”, driving force to account for moisture migration in non-isothermal conditions.