Numerical simulation of salt transport and crystallization in drying Prague sandstone using an experimentally consistent multiphase model

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Building and Environment, Volume 123
Author(s): L. Grementieri, L. Molari, H. Derluyn, J. Desarnaud, V. Cnudde, N. Shahidzadeh, S. de Miranda
Drying of porous media in the presence of salt is a very common phenomenon with many applications but it is not totally understood so far. Some experiments that recently appeared in the literature have shown that the kinetics of drying not only strongly depends upon the quantity of precipitated salt but also upon the form in which the salt precipitates. In this paper, a coupled multiphase model that is capable of describing the different drying kinetics taking into account the different efflorescence formations is presented. The model is then validated through two different experimental campaigns on drying in presence of NaCl solution.