Thesis: Chongke Wu

Moisture Studies of Adobe Walls Using IR Thermography and RFID

It is well known that uncontrolled moisture affects the behavior of porous building materials, especially mudbrick, causing surficial and structural damage to many historic adobe buildings. The measurement of moisture content of these materials and systems is important to preservation professionals to aid them in diagnosing building damage. Infrared thermography (IRT) and radio frequency identification (RFID) are increasingly used to map moisture distribution and identify areas with anomalous moisture content in structures. Compared with embedded or extracted quantitative sample analysis, IRT and RFID moisture sensors are a better alternative to measure moisture content levels due to their non/low destructive nature and ability to provide large scale moisture patterns. This thesis reviews current methods to locate and measure moisture in historical buildings, and then examines the application of IRT and RFID techniques to quantitatively measure moisture content in adobe walls using a set of uniform sand columns Gravimetric analysis is used to correlate moisture levels in samples with both techniques (IRT and RFID) under study.