OpenMoist: A Python code for transient moisture transfer analysis

Abstract

The analysis of the moisture diffusion inside structural elements is key to assess their time-dependent behaviour and performance, not least in the case of natural materials like wood. Although software exists to solve the moisture transfer problem indirectly, there is a dearth of user-friendly open-source codes tailored to the peculiarities of structural timber. This work presents a Python-based code called OpenMoist developed within a procedural programming framework to perform moisture transfer analysis. The code can handle solid and hollow section geometries, moisture dependent parameters as well as orthotropic diffusion properties typically encountered in wood.

Keywords

• Moisture transfer
• Finite difference
• Timber structures
• Python