InterPore2026

Assessing resilience of wood assemblies to floodings - from neutron imaging to hygrothermal simulation

21 May 2026, 14:35

15m

Oral Presentation (MS10) Advances in imaging porous media: techniques, software and case studies MS10

Speaker

Prof. Dominique Derome (Universite de Sherbrooke)

Description

To assess the resilience of wood assemblies to dry without damage under post-flooding situations, hygrothermal computational simulations require additional information to the standard boundary conditions usually imposed under normal environmental conditions. We perform neutron imaging to characterize water distribution within the interstices of wood assemblies, and propose to impose a moisture load, corresponding to saturated interstices of less than 100 microns, based on imaging of dozens of pairs of porous materials, undergoing drainage. The image acquisition was performed at the NEUTRA thermal neutron imaging beamline of the Swiss spallation neutron source (SINQ), Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland. In addition, a large-scale experimental campaign on spruce and pine wood provides a strong basis to validate imposing computationally a hydrostatic pressure during water imbibition, with data for the three directions of wood grain for the water heights (50, 900 and 2400 mm) and 3 durations (1, 2 and 4 days).
This project ensures to properly account for the effects of water interstices and hydrostatic pressure on building assemblies. Building on this work, a new methodology based on hygrothermal simulation is being developed to evaluate the capacity of basement assemblies to withstand flooding without incurring damage under various flood scenarios and post-flood intervention strategies. Building resilience in this context is defined as the ability to tolerate water exposure without inducing mold growth, corrosion, or material decay, thereby allowing the building to rapidly resume its intended functions. This work based on advanced hygrothermal simulations that explicitly account for water loads during flooding events supports the development of guidelines for building owners.
This project is initiated in the context of the recent fluvial and pluvial flooding events increasing in both intensity and frequency. In Canada, the associated costs are substantial for residents and for society as a whole. In the context of improving building resilience, the primary level of intervention consists of redirecting or preventing water ingress wherever feasible. When water entry cannot be avoided, the objective shifts to minimizing the damage caused by the ingress of water. In response to this growing need for flood resilience, this methodological framework for assessing the resilience of buildings exposed to flooding is thus under development.