OpenMoist: A Python code for transient moisture transfer analysis

• Main Authors: Carlos Melchor-Placencia, Christian Málaga-Chuquitaype
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
• Series: SoftwareX
• Subjects: Moisture transfer; Finite difference; Timber structures; Python
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352711021000571

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.