Continuous measurement of moisture content in building materials with Time-Domain Reflectometry

Abstract

Measuring moisture content in building materials is essential both for professional practice as well as for research. However, this is a very complex task, especially when in-depth long-term minor destructive measurements are desired. The Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique can be a solution to fulfil these requirements, but its application in construction materials is still a great challenge, particularly for hard and low porous building materials. In this paper, a methodology to evaluate moisture content with TDR in consolidated materials is presented. In addition, the procedure was applied to a limestone sample to assess its moisture content during a drying experiment. The obtained results suggest that TDR is suitable for moisture monitoring in limestone, encouraging future applications and further developments. Peer-review under the responsibility of the organizing committee of the ICMB23.