Hydrothermal behavior of hollow ceramic bricks from Southern Brazil brickyard

Abstract The presence of moisture in buildings can lead to pathological manifestations, and the behavior of materials when exposed to various conditions can be predicted through computational simulations. For this purpose, the hygrothermal characteristics of building elements are paramount. In Brazil, there is a gap in studies on the hygrothermal properties of materials, compromising simulations. This article discusses the possibilities of using European data in simulating moisture transport in ceramic brick walls in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results were generated by comparing hygrothermal simulations with WUFI Pro 6.5 using the simulation program database with data collected from laboratory tests on ceramic bricks from a southern Brazilian brickyard. Tests for water vapor diffusion resistance, water absorption, and hygroscopic curves were conducted. Although both situations led to the growth of filamentous fungi, experimental data led to3% lower values compared to database results. Regarding surface condensation, a likely higher occurrence was observed when using laboratory test data.