Seasonal Variation in Air Temperature and Relative Humidity on Building Areas and in Green Spaces in Beijing, China

The cooling and humidifying effects of urban parks are an essential component of city ecosystems in terms of regulating microclimates or mitigating urban heat islands(UHIs).Air temperature and relative humidity are two main factors of thermal environmental comfort and have a critical impact on the urban environmental quality of human settlements.We measured the 2-m height air temperature and relative humidity at the Beijing Olympic Park and a nearby building roof for more than 1 year to elucidate seasonal variations in air temperature and relative humidity,as well as to investigate the outdoor thermal comfort.The results showed that the lawn of the park could,on average,reduce the air temperature by(0.80±0.19)℃,and increase the relative humidity by(5.24±2.91)% relative to the values measured at the building roof during daytime.During the nighttime,the lawn of the park reduced the air temperature by(2.64±0.64)℃ and increased the relative humidity by(10.77±5.20)%.The park was cooler and more humid than surrounding building area,especially in night period(more pronounced cooling with 1.84℃).Additionally,the lawn of the park could improve outdoor thermal comfort through its cooling and humidifying effects.The level of thermal comfort in the park was higher than that around the building roof for a total of 11 days annually in which it was above one or more thermal comfort levels(average reduced human comfort index of 0.92)except during the winter.

Evolution of a Water Pendant Droplet: Effect of Temperature and Relative Humidity

As part of a better understanding of drying liquids within porous materials, measurements from 293 to 343 K of deionized water surface tension in air as a function of relative humidity are exposed. Experimental work was carried out using the pendant drop method coupled with image analysis within an adapted instrumented climatic chamber. Results show that surface tension linearly decreases when relative humidity increases. Although the effect of humidity is less compared to that of the temperature and even less compared to a surfactant impact, it must not be neglected and values have to be mentioned when dealing with water evaporation. Modifying surface tension also affects the pendant drop shape. The drying kinetics of the pendant drop volume and its outer shell are connected to this change of shape. Steam in the air can be assimilated to a wetting agent, hence a surfactant, and can be used in an environmental-friendly way to ease the drying stage. Indeed, the challenge is to limit the risk of cracking and damaging pieces during this crucial step in material processing.

Effect of relative humidity at either acute or chronic moderate temperature on growth performance and droppings' corticosterone metabolites of broilers

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of relative humidity(RH) at either acute or chronic moderate ambient temperature(Ta) on growth performance and droppings' corticosterone metabolites of broilers.Two experiments were conducted: effect of RH(35,60 or 85%) on average daily feed intake(ADFI) and droppings' corticosterone metabolites at acute(1 d: 20–26 or 31–20°C,26 or 31°C for 6 h d–1 at 10:00–16:00) moderate Ta(experiment 1) and effect of RH(35,60 or 85%) on growth performance and droppings' corticosterone metabolites at chronic(step-wisely increasing temperature by 3°C every 3 d from 20 to 32°C within 15 d: 20–23–26–29–32°C) moderate Ta(experiment 2).Droppings were collected at the 2,4,6,8,and 22 h after Ta-RH controlled in experiment 1 and at the 2,4,6,and 22 h after Ta controlled to 32°C in experiment 2.The results showed that: 1) In experiment 1,85% RH increased(P<0.05) the droppings' corticosterone metabolites at the 2,6,8,and 22 h and 35% RH increased(P<0.05) it at the 2 and 22 h compared to the 60% RH.Moreover,85% RH further increased(P<0.05) it compared to the 35% RH,however,no difference(P>0.05) was found in ADFI among the three RH groups at acute moderate 26°C; 35 and 85% RH increased(P<0.05) droppings' corticosterone metabolites at the 2,6,8 and 22 h and decreased(P<0.05) ADFI compared to the 60% RH,moreover,85% RH further increased(P<0.05) droppings' corticosterone metabolites and further decreased(P<0.05) ADFI compared to the 35% RH at acute moderate 31°C; and the average of droppings' corticosterone metabolites in the whole period had a negative correlation(P<0.02) with the ADFI.2) In experiment 2,85% RH increased(P<0.01) droppings' corticosterone metabolites only at the 2 h and decreased(P<0.02) ADFI and average daily gain(ADG) compared to the 60% RH,no difference(P>0.05) in droppings' corticosterone metabolites was found between the 35 and 60% RH,however,35% RH decreased(P<0.01) ADG compared to the 60% RH,and the average of droppings' corticosterone metabolites in the whole period also had a negative correlation(P<0.02) with ADFI and ADG.In conclusion,droppings' corticosterone metabolites could be used as a RH stress index and low and high RH,especially high RH,reduced growth performance possibly through inducing RH stress at moderate temperature.

Validation of ERA5-Land temperature and relative humidity on four Peruvian glaciers using on-glacier observations

Weather and climate conditions drive the evolution of tropical glaciers which play an important role as water reservoirs for Peruvian inhabitants in the arid coast and semi-arid Andean region.The scarcity of long-term high-quality observations over Peruvian glaciers has motivated the extensive use of reanalysis data to describe the climatic evolution of these glaciers.However,the representativeness and uncertainties of these reanalysis products over these glaciers are still poorly constrained.This study evaluates the ability of the ERA-Land reanalysis(ERAL)to reproduce hourly and monthly 2 m air temperature and relative humidity(T2m and Rh2m,respectively)over several Peruvian glaciers.We compared the ERAL with data from four on-glacier automatic weather stations(AWS),whose hourly time series were completed with nearby stations,for the period January 2017 to December 2019.Results indicates a better performance of the reanalysis for T2m(r>0.80)than for Rh2m(~0.4<r<~0.6)in all four glaciers.Concerning the observations,both parameters show a daily cycle influenced by the presence of the glacier.This influence is more prominent during the dry months when the so-called glacier damping and cooling effects are stronger.On a monthly time scale,the ERAL validation for both parameters are better in wet outer tropical sites(RMSE between±0.2℃ for T2m and between 3%-7% for Rh2m)rather than in dry outer tropical sites(RMSE between±0.2℃ for T2m and between 3%-7% for Rh2m).Among all sites considered in the study,the Rh2m bias is the highest in the Cavalca glacier(correlation of 0.81;RMSE 13%,MAE 11% and bias 8.3%)and the lowest in Artesonraju glacier(correlation of 0.96;RMSE 3%;MAE 2.3% and bias-0.8%).Based on certain considerations outlined in this paper,it is appropriate to use ERAL to characterize T2m and Rh2m conditions on Peruvian glaciers,particularly in the wet outer tropics.

A Miniature Sensor for Measuring Reflectance, Relative Humidity, and Temperature: A Greenhouse Example

There is a growing interest in using miniature multi-sensor technology to monitor plant, soil, and environmental conditions in greenhouses and in field settings. The objectives of this study were to build a small multi-channel sensing system with ability to measure visible and near infrared light reflectance, relative humidity, and temperature, to test the light reflectance sensors for measuring spectral characteristics of plant leaves and soilless media, and to compare results of the relative humidity and temperature sensors to identical measurement obtained from a greenhouse sensor. The sensing system was built with off-the-shelf miniature multispectral spectrometers and relative humidity and temperature sensors. The spectrometers were sensitive to visible, red-edge, and near infrared light. The system was placed in a greenhouse setting and used to obtain relative reflectance measurements of plant leaves and soilless media and to record temperature and relative humidity conditions in the greenhouse. The spectrometer data obtained from plant leaf and soilless media were compatible with baseline spectral data collected with a hyperspectral spectroradiometer. The greenhouse was equipped with a relative humidity and temperature sensor. The relative humidity and temperature sensor measurements from our sensor system were strongly correlated with the relative humidity and temperature results obtained with the greenhouse sensors...

Impact of Relative Humidity of Supply Gas on Temperature Distributions in Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell When Operated at High Temperature

For improving the performance of stationary PEFC （polymer electrolyte fuel cell） system, the cell operating temperature up to 90℃ will be preferred in Japan during the period from 2020 to 2030. To understand the operation of the PEFC system under relatively high temperature conditions, detail heat and mass transfer analysis is required. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of relative humidity of supply gas on temperature distribution on the backside of separator in single ceil of PEFC using Nation membrane at higher temperature e.g. 90℃. The in-plane temperature distribution when power was being generated was measured using thermograph with various relative humidity of supply gases. It was found that the in-plane temperature distribution at the anode was more even than that at the cathode irrespective of the relative humidity of supply gas at the anode and the cathode. The temperature elevated along gas flow through the gas channel at the cathode irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas at the anode and the cathode. The in-plane temperature distribution at the cathode was narrower with the increase in Tini irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas at the cathode, while it was not observed when changing the relative humidity of supply gas at the anode. When the relative humidity of supply gas at cathode decreased, the in-plane temperature distribution at the anode was wider compared to decreasing the relative humidity of supply gas at the anode. The study concluded that the impact of relative humidity of supply gas at both anode and cathode had little impact on the in-plane temperature distribution at the cathode.

Effect of relative humidity at chronic temperature on growth performance, glucose consumption, and mitochondrial ATP production of broilers

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of relative humidity(RH)at chronic temperature on growth performance,glucose consumption,and mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate(ATP)production of broilers.A total of 180 28-day-old Arbor Acres broilers(half males and half females)were randomly allocated to three treatments,each containing six replicates of 10 birds per treatment,using a completely randomized design.Birds were reared at 35,60 or 85%RH at 32℃for 15 days(temperature increased by 3℃every 3 days from 20 to 32℃within 15 days:20–23–26–29–32℃).RH affected(P<0.05)average daily feed intake(ADFI),average daily gain(ADG),average daily water consumption(ADWC),blood glucose concentrations,muscle glycogen levels,avian uncoupling protein(av UCP)mRNA expression,and cytochrome c oxidase(CCO)activity in liver of broilers at 42 days of age.The 85%RH decreased(P<0.05)ADFI,ADG and ADWC;35%RH decreased(P<0.02)ADG.Both 85 and 35%RH increased(P<0.01)blood glucose and decreased(P<0.05)muscle glycogen.Both 85 and 35%RH increased(P<0.05)av UCP mRNA expression.35%RH decreased(P<0.05)CCO activity.In conclusion,both high and low RH inceased glucose consumption and reduced mitochondrial ATP poduction,leading to a decline in growth rate.

Retrieval and analysis of sea surface air temperature and relative humidity

Air temperature and relative humidity have been the main parameters of meteorology study. In the past data could be obtained from in-situ observations, but the observations are local and sparse, especially over ocean. Now we can get them from satellites, yet it is hard to estimate them from sat- ellites directly so far. This paper presents a new method to retrieve monthly averaged sea air temper- ature （SAT） and relative humidity （RH） near sea surface from satellite data with artificial neural networks （ANN）. Compared with the observations in Pacific and Atlantic, the root mean square （RMS） and the correlation between the estimated SAT and the observations are about 0.91 ~C and 0.99, respectively. The RMS and the correlation of RH are about 3.73% and 0.65, respectively. Compared with the multiple regression method, the ANN methodology is more powerful in building nonlinear relations in this research. Thus the global monthly average SAT and RH are retrieved from the fixed ANN network from July 1987 to May 2004. In general the annual average SAT shows the increasing trend in recent 18 years. The abnormality of SAT is decomposed with the empirical or- thogonal function （EOF）. The leading three EOFs could explain 84% of the total variation. EOF1 （76.1%） presents the seasonal change of the SAT abnormality. EOF2 （4.6%） is mainly related with ENSO. EOF3 （3.3%） shows some new interesting phenomena appearing in the three main currents in Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

Impact of Variegated Temperature, CO<SUB>2</SUB>and Relative Humidity on Survival and Development of Beet Armyworm <i>Spodoptera exigua</i>(Hubner) under Controlled Growth Chamber

Climate change will have a noteworthy bearing on survival, development, and population dynamics of insect pests. Therefore, we contemplated the survival and development of beet army worm, Spodoptera exigua under different temperatures, (15°C, 25°C, 35°C, and 45°C), CO2 (350, 550, 750 ppm) and relative humidity (55%, 65%, 75% and 85%) regimes. Maximum larval and pupal weights were recorded in insects reared at 25°C. The growth of S. exigua was faster at 35°C (larval period 7.4 days and pupal period 4.5 days) than at lower temperatures. At 15°C, the larval period was extended for 61.4 days and there was no adult emergence from the pupae till 90 days. The S. exigua hatchling was absent at 45°C. The larval survival ranged from 31.6% - 57.2%, maximum survival was recorded at 25°C, and minimum at 45°C. The maximum (84.27%) and minimum adult emergence were recorded in insects reared at 25°C and 35°C respectively. Maximum fecundity (384.3 eggs/female) and egg viability (51.97%) were recorded in insects reared at 25°C. Larval and pupal periods increased with an increase in CO2 concentration. The highest pupal weights (128.6 mg/larva) were recorded at 550 ppm. The highest larval survival (73.50%) was recorded at 550 ppm and minimum (37.00%) at 750 ppm CO2. Fecundity was the highest in insects reared at 550 ppm CO2 (657.4 eggs/female), and the lowest at 750 ppm. Maximum larval and pupal weights were recorded in insects reared at 75% relative humidity (RH). The growth rate of S. exigua was faster at 85% RH than at lower RH. The larval survival ranged between 40.0% - 58.5%. Maximum adult emergence (88.91%) was recorded in insects reared at 75% RH and minimum at 85% RH. Maximum fecundity (447.6 eggs/female) and the highest egg viability (72.95%) were recorded in insects reared at 75% and 65% RH respectively. Elevated temperatures and relative moistness will diminish the life cycle, while hoisted CO2 will drag the life expectancy. Therefore, there is a need for thorough assessment of the impact of climatic factors on the population dynamics of insect pests, crop losses, and sustainability of crop production.

Influence of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Air Pollution in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In this paper we access the effects of two atmospheric variables (temperatureand relative humidity) on two important pollutants in the atmosphere(Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO)) by using one year(2016) data of Addis Ababa. Temperature has impact on atmosphericmixing and cause for the reduction of NOx as temperature increases.There are positive correlation between temperature and CO concentrationfrom January to April with (R^2 = 0.69), negative correlation from Mayto August with (R2 = 0.92) and no correlation for the remaining months.NOx and CO have moderate positive and negative correlation with relativehumidity during the months January-April (R^2 = 0.294 for NOx and R^2 =0291 for CO) and in the months May-August are R2 = 0.97 and R2 = 0.15for NOx and CO respectively. But there are no clear correlation betweenthe NOx and CO with relative humidity from September-December.NOx concentrations during wet season was almost about twice that of thedry season, but no such difference was observed in the case of CO. Theseasonal average air temperature in wet season is relatively lower than dryseason. NOx exhibited positive and CO negative seasonal correlations withrelative humidity.

CORRELATION BETWEEN PEAK INTENSITY OF EXTREME AFTERNOON SHORT-DURATION RAINFALL AND HUMIDITY AND SURFACE AIR TEMPERATURE IN SOUTHEAST COAST OF CHINA

Using hourly rainfall intensity, daily surface air temperature, humidity and low-level dew point depressions at55 stations in the southeast coast of China, and sea surface temperature from reanalysis in the coastal region, this paper analyzes the connection between peak intensity of extreme afternoon short-duration rainfall(EASR) and humidity as well as surface air temperature. The dependency of extreme peak intensity of EASR on temperature has a significant transition. When daily highest surface temperature is below(above) 29°C, the peak rainfall intensity shows an ascending(descending) tendency with rising temperature. Having investigated the role of moisture condition in the variation of EASR and temperature, this paper discovered that the decrease of peak rainfall intensity with temperature rising is connected with the variation of relative humidity. At higher temperatures, the land surface relative humidity decreases dramatically as temperature further increases. During this process, the sea surface temperature maintains basically unchanged, resulting in indistinct variations of water vapor content at seas. As water vapor over land is mainly contributed by the quantitative moisture transport from adjacent seas, the decline of relative humidity over land will be consequently caused by the further rise of surface air temperature.

Effects of high temperature and high relative humidity drying on moisture distribution,starch microstructure and cooking characteristics of extruded whole buckwheat noodles

Drying is a key step in starch noodle production.The effects of high temperature(60,70,80°C)and high relative humidity(65%,75%,85%)drying(HTHD)on the moisture distribution,starch microstructure and cooking characteristics of extruded whole buckwheat noodles were investigated.Compared to the conventional hot-air drying(CHAD)at 40°C,the increase in drying temperature(60–80°C)and the decrease in relative humidity(85%–65%)significantly improved drying efficiency of the extruded noodles.By adjusting drying temperature and relative humidity,the rate of moisture migration in noodles and phase transition of starch could be appropriately controlled.The optimum drying parameters(T70H75,70°C drying temperature and 75%relative humidity)showed smooth and dense network structure,resulting in the lowest cooking loss(6.61%),broken rate(0%),highest hardness(1695.17 g)and springiness(0.92).However,the total flavonoid content(TFC)and the total phenolic content(TPC)reduced by 6.81%–28.50%and 7.19%–53.23%in contrast to CHAD,and the color of buckwheat noodles became darker through HTHD.These findings showed the potential of HTHD for increasing drying efficiency and improving buckwheat noodle quality.The appropriate drying parameters could maintain a balanced relationship between moisture migration in noodles and phase transition of starch,which resulted in better cooking quality for extruded whole buckwheat noodles.Such a study is valuable for regulating the process conditions of buckwheat-based foods and promoting its commercial utilization.

Effects of Extreme Air Temperature and Humidity on the Insecticidal Expression Level of Bt Cotton

The higher survival rates of Helicoverpa amigera larvae were usually observed after adverse climate which was related to extreme temperature （T） and relative humidity （RH） stresses in transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） cotton. The unstable resistance of Bt cotton to bollworms has been correlated with the reduced expression of CrylAc δ-endotoxin. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of combined temperature and relative humidity stresses on the leaf CrylAc insecticidal protein expression during critical developmental stages. The study was undertaken on two transgenic cotton cultivars that share same parental background, Sikang 1 （a conventional cultivar） and Sikang 3 （a hybrid cultivar）, during the 2007 and 2008 growing seasons at the Yangzhou University Farm, Yangzhou, China. The study was arranged with two factors that consisted of temperature （two levels） and relative humidity （three levels）. The six T/RH treatments were 37℃/95%, 37℃/70%, 37℃/50%, 18℃/95%, 18℃/70%, and 18℃/50%. In 2007, the six treatments were imposed to the plants at peak flowering stage for 24 h; in 2008, the six treatments were applied to the plants at peak square, peak flowering, and peak boll stages for 48 h. The results of the study indicated that the leaf insecticidal protein expression in CrylAc was significantly affected by extreme temperature only at peak flowering stage, and by both extreme temperature and relative humidity during boll filling stage. The greatest reductions were observed when the stresses were applied at peak boll stage. In 2008, after 48 h stress treatment, the leaf Bt endotoxin expression reduced by 25.9-36.7 and 23.6-40.5% at peak boll stage, but only by 14.9-26.5 and 12.8-24.0% at peak flowering stage for Sikang 1 and Sikang 3, respectively. The greatest reduction was found under the low temperature combined with low relative humidity condition for both years. It is believed that the temperature and relative humidity stresses may be attributed to the reduced efficacy of Bt cotton in growing conditions in China, where extreme temperatures often increase up to 35-40℃ and/or decrease down to 15-20℃, and relative humidity may reach to 85-95% and/or reduce to 40-55% during the cotton growing season.

The Impact of Relative Humidity and Atmospheric Pressure on Mortality in Guangzhou, China

Objective Although many studies have examined the effects of ambient temperatures on mortality, little evidence is on health impacts of atmospheric pressure and relative humidity. This study aimed to assess the impacts of atmospheric pressure and relative humidity on mortality in Guangzhou, China. Methods This study included 213,737 registered deaths during 2003-2011 in Guangzhou, China. A quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model was used to assess the effects of atmospheric pressure/relative humidity. Results We found significant effect of low atmospheric pressure/relative humidity on mortality. There was a 1.79% （95% confidence interval： 0.38%-3.22%） increase in non-accidental mortality and a 2.27% （0.07%-4.51%） increase in cardiovascular mortality comparing the 5th and 25th percentile of atmospheric pressure. A 3.97% （0.67%-7.39%） increase in cardiovascular mortality was also observed comparing the 5th and 25th percentile of relative humidity. Women were more vulnerable to decrease in atmospheric pressure and relative humidity than men. Age and education attainment were also potential effect modifiers. Furthermore, low atmospheric pressure and relative humidity increased temperature-related mortality. Conclusion Both low atmospheric pressure and relative humidity are important risk factors of mortality. Our findings would be helpful to develop health risk assessment and climate policy interventions that would better protect vulnerable subgroups of the population.

Local Variability in Temperature, Humidity and Radiation in the BaekduDaegan Mountain Protected Area of Korea

A novel embedded sensor network records changes in key climatic-environmental variables over a range of altitude in the BaekduDaegan Mountain （BDM） of Gangwon Province in Korea, a protected mountain region with unique biodiversity undergoing climate change research. The investigated area is subdivided into three horizontal north-south study areas. Three variables, temperature （T, °C）, relative humidity （RH, %）, and light intensity （LI, lumens m-2, or lux, lx）, have been continuously measured at hourly intervals from June, 2olo to September, 2011 using HOBO H8 devices at lO fixed study sites. These hourly observations are aggregated to monthly, seasonal and annual mean values, and results are summarized to inaugurate a long-term climate change investigation. A region wide T difference in accordance with altitude, or lapse rate, over the interval is calculated as o.4°C l00 m-1. T lapse rates change seasonally, with winter lapse rates being greater than those of summer. RH is elevated in summer compared to other seasons. LI within forestland is lower during summer and higher during other seasons. The obtained results could closely relate to the vegetation type and structure and the terrain state since data loggers were located in forestland.

Effect of post treatment temperature and humidity conditions onfixation performance of CCA-C treated red pine and southern pine

Rates of fixation in chromated copper arsenate (CCA-C) treated red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and southern pine (Pinus spp) sapwood specimens using retention of 1.5, 2.0, 6.4 kg·m?3 are compared at temperature (T) ranging from 70°C to 50°C and 5 different relative humidity (RH) conditions. The samples were investigated using the expressate method to follow chromium fixation. Red pine fixes faster than southern pine under all 11 post treatment schedules. The fixation rates for both species are not significantly different while the blocks were fixed under 6 fixation/drying schedules that differed only in the order of T/RH conditions applied. The rate of fixation of all samples in any fixation stage were reduced when the blocks were fixed under lower humidity conditions in spite of no change in chamber temperature. Some of this influence can be attributed to the effect of humidity on heat transfer into the wood and cooling of the wood surface.

Elevational patterns of temperature and humidity in the middle Tianshan Mountain area in Central Asia

The vertical distribution of vegetation types along an elevational gradient in mountain areas largely depends on the elevational changes in air temperature and humidity. In this study, we presented the seasonal and diurnal variations in the elevational gradients of air temperature and humidity on the southern and northern slopes in the middle Tianshan Mountain Range using data collected throughout the year via HOBO data loggers. The measurements were conducted at 12 different elevations from 1548 to 3277 m from September 2004 to August 2005. The results showed that the annual mean air temperature decreased along the elevational gradients with temperature lapse rates of(0.71±0.20)°C/100 m and(0.59±0.05)°C/100 m on the northern and southern slopes, respectively. The annual mean absolute humidity significantly decreased with increasing elevation on the northern slope but showed no significant trend on the southern slope. The annual mean relative humidity did not show a significant trend on the northern slope but increased with increasing elevation on the southern slope. The mean air temperature lapse rate exhibited significant seasonal variation, which is steeper insummer and shallower in winter, and this value varied between 0.37°C/100 m and 0.75°C/100 m on the southern slope and between 0.30°C/100 m and 1.02°C/100 m on the northern slope. The mean absolute and relative humidity also exhibited significant seasonal variations on both slopes, with the maximum occurring in summer and the minimum occurring in winter or spring. The monthly diurnal range of air temperature on both slopes was higher in spring than in winter. The annual range of air temperature on the southern slope was higher than that on the northern slope. Our results suggest that significant spatiotemporal variations in humidity and temperature lapse rate are useful when analyzing the relationships between species range sizes and climate in mountain areas.

Mesocosmic study on autogenous shrinkage of concrete with consideration of effects of temperature and humidity

A study on the autogenous shrinkage （AS） of concrete from a mesocosmic perspective was carried out using numerical simulation technology. The temperature history and the autogenous relative humidity （ARH）, two factors that have been shown to have occasional influence on this process in previous studies, were introduced into this study. According to these concepts, a program for simulation of the temperature field, humidity field, and stress field based on the equivalent age method and a fully automatic aggregate modeling tool were used. With the help of these programs, the study of a small concrete specimen provided some useful conclusions： the aggregate and the matrix show distinct distribution properties in the temperature field, humidity field, and stress field; the aggregate-matrix interface has a high possibility of becoming the location of the initial cracking caused by AS of concrete; the distribution of random aggregates is extremely important for mesoscopical analysis; and the temperature history is the main factor affecting the AS of concrete. On the whole, inherent mechanisms and cracking mechanisms of AS of concrete can be explained more reasonably and realistically only by considering the different characteristics of material phases and the effects of temperature and humidity.

Feasibility of Using Wood Chips to Regulate Relative Humidity Inside a Building: A Numerical Study

The use of bio-based materials in buildings has become more and more significant last years.In most of the cases,their health properties and natural provenance have made them a great solution to face global climate warming and the new policies to reduce building energy consumption.In many thermal problems,biobased materials can allow to optimize the building thermal behavior according to its energy consumption and inside comfort conditions.So it is when they are used as an insulation material in the building.However,it is not the case in this paper.In fact,the bio-based matter is rather used as a desiccant wheel to control air conditioning inside the building.The aim of this paper is to numerically verify if it is possible to use a bed of wood chips as a hygroscopic material(or a desiccant matter)in order to modify the relative humidity inside the building in Reunion Island and so improve thermal comfort.A simple model of heat and mass transfer between a bed of wood chips and building inside air has been set up and implemented into a validated building simulation code named ISOLAB.Numerical simulations were set up for the four climate zones of the island regulations and a focus has been made on the low altitude one(with high,solar irradiation,temperature and relative humidity).Simulation results give the thermal behavior of the building particularly the temperature and relative humidity of inside air temperature,and temperature and moisture content of wood chips.The obtained results lead to determine if the wood chips bed is suitable for the reference building and to verify its technical feasibility(wood species,size of the bed,integration to the building,etc.).The results show that the use of a WCB help to decrease the building inside air temperature and water content up to 10°C less and 11.6 g.kg-1 less.These are the ways to improve inside comfort conditions.Indeed,comfort analysis have shown the possibility to significantly increase building users’thermal comfort when coupled with a fan and natural ventilation,like the regulation needs for low altitude climate.In this case,a gain of 68%of year time is achieved for a building equipped with WCB system compared to one without it(6308 hours of comfort over a year with the WCB against 350 hours without WCB).So the WCB seems to be able to help reducing cooling loads in tropical climate conditions.

Textile Environmental Conditioning: Effect of Relative Humidity Variation on the Tensile Properties of Different Fabrics

With the aim that to confirm the need for humidity control in the environment in which textile sample are visually and instrumentally analyzed, three different pre-conditioned fabrics sample of cotton, polyester and silk were treated at a fix temperature of 21?C. The relative humidity adjusted to four levels: 55%, 65%, 75% and 85% RH for a conditioning time of 24 hours as specified in ASTM D-1776-98. It has been observed that as the relative humidity increase from 55% to 85% cotton increase its tensile strength, silk losses its strength and there was no significant change observed in the tensile strength of polyester fabric.