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ABSTRACT
It is currently considered that climate change caused by the intensification of the greenhouse effect will worsen extreme weather events such as floods. Indeed, floods are extreme weather events that are at risk of occurring more often and with greater intensity in the coming decades.
For historical reasons, particularly easier access to water supply, some of Portugal's most striking buildings were built near waterways and on floodplains and are therefore much more likely to suffer flooding. The occurrence of a flood can suddenly increase the moisture content in various building elements, which causes damage. It is very important that the moisture level of the walls is reduced as quickly as possible after a flood has occurred.
This article presents the results of a numerical analysis undertaken in a collaborative project involving the Institute for Research and Technological Development in Construction Sciences (ITeCons) and the Civil Engineering Department of the Faculty of Science and Technology of Coimbra University. The main objective was to perform a numerical simulation to validate the efficiency of a wall-base ventilation system as a technique to improve the drying out of walls of historical buildings after a flood. In this article we present the results of the latest investigations that have been carried out on the influence of the air change rate in the ventilation channels on the drying process.