MOISTURE BUFFERING CAPACITY OF HYGROSCOPIC CURTAINS: THEORETICAL STUDY

Moisture buffering is a passive humidity control method, whereby the indoor relative humidity variation is dampened through absorption and desorption processes. Hygroscopic curtains when installed inside occupied spaces will help dampen the variation of relative humidity and thus reduce the risk of mould growth. In this study, the transient moisture transfer between a hygroscopic curtain and the indoor air was modeled and simulated when the curtain is placed in a small office space. The office space (5m x 5m) is located in Beirut city and is conditioned by a DX Split-unit AC system. The absorbed moisture by the curtains (3m x 5m)during periods of high latent load was eventually released to the air during periods of low latent load. Night purging is modeled to get rid of the released moisture during the night. It was found that hygroscopic curtains decreased the relative humidity by up to 7% during part load operation compared to the case of no curtain.