The temperature distribution influenced by moisture and vapor pressure in a multilayered composite wall

This research aims to solve the problem of temperature, moisture, and vapor pressure profiles in a multilayered composite wall under the boundary conditions of different temperatures at both sides of the wall. The concept of moisture potential, instead of moisture content, is introduced to extend the application from one homogeneous layer to multilayered composites and to keep the moisture potential continuous across the interfaces as well as the temperature and pressure distributions. We concentrate on numerical analysis and experimental work. The Galerkin method, one of the finite element methods, is used to yield numerical results. In comparison with the measured data we find that the numerical temperature prediction is slightly higher and is influenced by moisture much more than by vapor pressure. Both results are within acceptable accuracy.