Air cavities for the control of rising damp in historical buildings. Design criteria

Passive air or ventilation cavities constitute a potential treatment against the pathology caused by capillary rising damp in buildings built on unsaturated soils. An accurate diagnosis regarding the damage to the foundation or walls will determine the suitability of this solution. In order to obtain good results, it is necessary to use correct criteria for its design and dimensioning, followed by monitoring and maintenance of the system. Given the lack of guidelines to define these recommendations, this research presents an approximation to the list of aspects and issues to be taken into account in the design of this type of cavities. There was a previous field analysis of the operation of the different types of cavities identified, as well as their formal and constructive features, and their boundary and particular conditions, which serves as the basis for structuring the design criteria of this treatment.