Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
  • E04B1/62—Insulation or other protection; Elements or use of specified material therefor
  • E04B1/70—Drying or keeping dry, e.g. by air vents
  • E04B1/7007—Drying or keeping dry, e.g. by air vents by using electricity, e.g. electro-osmosis

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the removal of moisture from the walls of buildings, in particular in the case of old constructions. It relates more particularly to the fight against rising damp from the ground.
• a variant of this method has been described in document FR-A-1 583 464. It consists in introducing into the walls to be dried, two sets of electrodes one above the other at predetermined distances, the electrodes being connected to each other by an electrical conductor for each of these series. The upper series is then connected to the positive pole of a direct current source and the lower series is connected to the negative pole. This variant eliminates the need for earth connections located in the ground.
• the document FR-A-1 508 872 described the combination of the dewatering method by electro-osmosis with electrophoresis. .
• phoresis products are introduced into the recesses in the walls to implant the electrodes.
• the ions resulting from the phoresis products migrate in the direction of the displacement of the water. These products are therefore entrained in the capillaries of the walls which are thus closed.
• Various phoresis products have been described, in particular in document FR-A-2 603 318, in liquid and / or powder form.
• the object of the invention is to provide a method and a device for removing moisture from walls which is simple to install, inexpensive and effective quickly and steadily over time.
• the subject of the invention is a method for combating the humidity of the walls of a building, characterized in that a continuous electrical circuit is established, the negative polarity of which is applied to the whole of the building. and whose positive polarity is applied to an earth connection. According to other characteristics of the invention:
• the negative polarity is applied at a height of the order of a few meters above ground level.
• the negative polarity is distributed in a small number of points in at least one wall of the construction.
• the invention also relates to a device for removing moisture from the walls of a building, characterized in that it comprises a small number of electrodes intended to be repatiated in at least one wall of said building at a height of the order of a few meters from the ground level, an earth plug intended to be planted in the ground and conducting wires which must connect on the one hand, each electrode and on the other hand, the earth plug, connectors for a direct current source, respectively at the pole (-) and the pole (+) of said source.
• a device for removing moisture from the walls of a building characterized in that it comprises a small number of electrodes intended to be repatiated in at least one wall of said building at a height of the order of a few meters from the ground level, an earth plug intended to be planted in the ground and conducting wires which must connect on the one hand, each electrode and on the other hand, the earth plug, connectors for a direct current source, respectively at the pole (-) and the pole (+) of said source.
• said device comprises an electrode inserted in one of the joints connecting said building elements.
• said device includes an electrode inserted into the most conductive part of a building wall.
• it comprises an electrode placed in a recess having walls covered, at least partially, with a composition based on graphite powder.
• the intensity of the electric field created is of the order of a millivolt per meter.
• the invention is based on the surprising observation that the intensity of the electric field created is not a determining factor for the desired result, contrary to the teaching that can be drawn from all the methods known up to now.
• the known methods are based on the application of the most homogeneous electric field possible and the highest possible intensity, which implies the installation of a large number of electrodes for each wall of the same construction.
• Electrophoresis both construction and land.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a house equipped with the device according to the invention, showing the positioning of an electrode and the earth connection with respect to the entire construction and with respect to the ground;
• Figure 2 is a partial schematic sectional view of the wall of the house of Figure 1, showing the positioning of the electrode and the earth connection connected to a DC source;
• Figure 3 is an electrical diagram of a device according to the invention.
• Figures 4a. and 4b are partial schematic views, respectively from the front and in section, of an alternative embodiment of the invention, showing the positioning of the electrode in one of the joints connecting the constituent elements of the wall;
• Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a house comprising a device according to another embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 6 is a partial schematic sectional view of the wall of the house of Figure 5 comprising the electrode, showing the positioning of this electrode facing a cross wall;
• FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of the house of Figure 5, to illustrate the distribution of the electric field.
• the method according to the invention generally consists in subjecting the entire construction to be treated to the action of a low intensity electric field. To do this, a small number of electrodes distributed in the walls of the construction to be treated are used, as described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
• low number of electrodes is understood to mean the implantation of a single electrode, or even two, three or four electrodes in the case of large buildings. In general, it is necessary to use a number of electrodes more or less large depending on the permeability of the walls and therefore according to the nature and the state of its constituent elements. Experience shows that a single electrode is generally enough to, in a way, transform the construction into a giant electrode. This is the case described below.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a device according to the invention applied to an individual house 5 of medium size.
• an electrode 10 is inserted into an exterior wall 12 of said house 5.
• the electrode 10 is introduced into an exterior wall on the side exterior to the construction but it is entirely possible to include it on the interior side and even in an interior wall such as a cross wall, as is explained below.
• the electrode is placed in order to obtain a good distribution of the electric field created over the entire construction.
• a recess 14 (see FIG. 2) is previously made in the wall 12 at the chosen location and the walls of this recess 14 are optionally covered with a conductive varnish based on graphite powder or any other product that improves contact.
• the electrode 10 consists, for example, of an expansion bolt or other conductive material such as copper.
• a reliable result can be obtained with a conductive electrode of about ten millimeters embedded over two thirds of the thickness of the wall by using a conductive varnish based on graphite powder as mentioned above.
• the electrode 10 is placed at a height h. from ground level, about three meters. This height h is, in general, of the order of a few meters and this, unlike known techniques where the electrodes were placed a short distance above the ground, of the order of a few tens of centimeters.
• an earth plug 16 is planted in the ground.
• the earth electrode 16 is advantageously placed at a distance d . relative to the foot of the wall 12, of the order of a few tens of centimeters.
• a direct current source 18 is provided.
• the electrode 10 is connected to the negative pole of the direct current source 18, by an electrical conductor 20 and the earth connection 16 to the positive pole. from this source 18, by another electrical conductor 22.
• a closed electrical circuit is thus established between the electrode 10, the earth electrode 16, the direct current source 18 and the wall 12.
• the application of the polarities is reversed compared to the prior techniques. This is due to the fact that we consider the construction and the land on which it is built as two distinct environments; we create an interface between these two media and we act, by applying an electric field, at this interface.
• the basic principle of the invention is therefore completely contrary to that of the methods known up to now since, according to these, the construction and the land were considered to form a single medium and one acted exclusively on the walls. whether by electro-osmosis alone or combined with electrophoresis.
• the device according to the invention is supplied by a high voltage alternating current source 30.
• An isolation transformer 32 and a rectifier bridge 34 are provided to obtain a low voltage direct current.
• the device comprises a rechargeable battery 36 connected to an earth connection 38.
• Such a device can therefore operate in the following two ways:
• Channels VI and VI which constitute two parallel channels according to which the electrode 10 is supplied by a direct current source derived from a mains supply.
• the electrode 10 is directly supplied by the low-voltage direct current coming from the rectifier bridge 34, via a diode 40.
• the electrode 10 is supplied and the battery is charged. 36.
• a charge regulator 42 and a diode 44 are provided.
• This device has the advantage of being able to operate on the mains or on the battery when there is an involuntary or voluntary power cut, for example for dwellings which are not regularly occupied.
• the DC source 18 consists, for example, of commercially available 1.5 volt batteries.
• the DC source 18 consists, for example, of commercially available 1.5 volt batteries.
• two batteries are enough for an autonomy of at least six months.
• the intensity of the current is chosen according to the importance of the construction to be treated and of the material of the walls. Indeed, the more compact the material constituting the walls, that is to say for example walls made of bricks or stones linked by a rich cement, the more a low current can be applied. On the contrary, if the walls are made of millstones assembled with a poor mortar, an electric current of higher intensity is applied because the fine capillaries are then more numerous than in the first case.
• the vertical component of the established electric field is of the order of a millivolt per meter at the base of walls, whatever their nature. It should be noted that this vertical component is notably less than that of the electric fields applied according to the electro ⁇ osmosis and / or electrophoresis methods.
• the conductivity of the wall varies with its humidity level depending on the presence of underground sources, heavy rainfall, etc. , and there is therefore a self-regulation of the current whose intensity increases with an increase in the humidity rate and decreases when it also decreases, for a relatively constant field.
• the influence of the electric field created is much more extensive than in the case of the techniques. anterior and it is the set of construction walls that is subjected to the action of said electric field.
• the electrode is placed in a part of a wall supposed to be the most conductive.
• Figures 4a . and 4b illustrate the case where the wall 50 having to receive the electrode 48 is made of concrete blocks, bricks, stones 52 or other building elements connected to each other by a mortar or a cement serving as joints to form the wall.
• the electrode 48 is then preferably placed in one of the seals 54 connecting the elements 52.
• FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate, for their part, the case of a construction 60 comprising a cross wall 62.
• An electrode 64 is then inserted, preferably in the immediate vicinity of this wall 62 or even in the cross wall itself. 'It has a thickness greater than that of the exterior walls in order to be placed in the most massive part of the construction.
• the electrode 64 is introduced into an exterior wall 66 facing the cross wall 62. This further improves the diffusion and distribution of the electric field.
• the electrode 64 is placed at a height &'of about three meters.
• an earth plug 68 is planted in the ground. It is advantageously placed at a point distant from a wall construction exterior.
• a direct current source (not shown) of the aforementioned type is provided to form a closed circuit with the wall 62, the electrode 64 and the earth electrode 68 similar to that shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2.
• the vertical component of the electric field created is maximum below the electrode 64 (point A) and decreases as one moves away from it.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Electrochemistry (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Building Environments (AREA)
• Drying Of Gases (AREA)
• Drying Of Solid Materials (AREA)

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• 1993
  • 1993-06-14 AT AT93913122T patent/ATE199427T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1993-06-14 EP EP93913122A patent/EP0612365B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1993-06-14 WO PCT/FR1993/000566 patent/WO1993025773A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1993-06-14 DE DE69329965T patent/DE69329965D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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