Test apparatus for the dynamic measurement of moisture transport and storage properties of porous materials

A test apparatus for the dynamic measurement of moisture transport and storage properties of porous materials, the test apparatus comprising:

• a housing with an interior which forms a watertight main measuring chamber for housing a sample bar having a constant section and having faces sealed in a watertight manner, with all its faces being sealed except for one of its end faces,
• a framework structure supporting the housing, a sample holder arranged in the main chamber,
• an air-conditioning system for obtaining regulated relative humidity and temperature conditions for the air inside the main chamber comprising:
• a humidifying system for humidifying the air inside the main chamber so as to obtain humidified air inside the main chamber,
• a thermal regulation system for establishing predetermined working temperatures of the humidified air inside the main chamber so as to obtain thermally conditioned humidified air,
• a humidified air recirculation system for providing a recirculation of thermally conditioned humidified air inside the main chamber, and
• a control system which controls the humidifying, thermal regulation, and air recirculation systems so as to establish a plurality of combinations of the regulated relative humidity and temperature conditions,
• wherein the sample holder comprises first lower support elements for supporting a first end part of the sample bar and second lower support elements for supporting a second end part of the sample bar corresponding to the unsealed end face of the sample bar;
• and
• a first suspension arm and a second suspension arm each hinged at its lower end to one of the lower support elements, the first suspension arm being hinged to an upper part of the framework structure, and the second suspension arm being hinged such that it is connected to a force gauge arranged in the main chamber, the lower support elements being suspended on the suspension arms such that they keep the sample bar axially suspended in a horizontal plane without causing axial stresses in the bar.