Hygrothermal Transfer Modelling Through a Bio-Based Building Material: Validation of a Switching-Linear Model

This research presents a switching linear data-driven model (PWARX) dedicated to predicting the hygrothermal behavior through the building envelope. This model uses a discrete state and a switched detection approach for discrete-time linear switched systems, as well as an additional variable with a discrete value. The bio-based materials are subjected to humidification/drying cycles by the temperature and relative humidity variations. The current study aims to fill the knowledge gap and to address the limitations of data-driven models by (i) providing a realistic explanation of the hygrothermal behavior of bio-based materials, (ii) identifying the hygroscopic mode such as sorption/desorption and transition phase between sorption/desorption modes, and (iii) estimating the process time of each phenomenon, which makes it possible to estimate the rate of moisture propagation. Finally, the proposed method can be faithfully applied to the study of hygrothermal behavior of materials, which is strongly related to the building energy performance and the investigation of their durability.