FAQ:General:SourcesofMaterialData

(1): Sources of Material Data

Where can I find material data for materials which are not included in the database?

Unfortunately, finding material data for hygric simulations can prove difficult since there are no standard collections of such data as yet. While thermal data can be found in many books, hygric data are sparse and hard to come by.

A collection of design values for heat conductivity (including the effect of practical moisture content) and diffusion resistance factors is listed in German standard DIN 4108-4 and numerous textbooks on building physics. The new DIN EN 12524 lists thermal as well as basic hygric design values for building materials.

An extensive list of "NIST Heat Transmission Properties of Insulating and Building Materials" is available on-line at [1].

Moisture storage functions and liquid transport coefficients may be estimated from the standard parameters wf, w80 and the A-value which may also be found in some textbooks (at least for selected materials) and data sheets or can be measured relatively easily.

Occasionally, some data may be found scattered through the specialised literature, but there is no systematic way to retrieve them.

Sometimes the manufacturer may be able to provide material data. Some laboratories (including IBP) can measure the required data if samples are provided.