The work described here is done in collaboration with the staff of the Department of Structural Engineering and Materials of the Technical University of Denmark. The use of humidity buffers is well established in packaging, where there is very little air leakage. Humidity buffers are also used in showcases, where there is a leakage rate of about one air change per day. Humidity buffering is beginning to be taken seriously in the design of museum stores, where the air change rate can be limited to about one per twelve hours. The next challenge is to consider whether passive buffering can be useful in the design of museum galleries, which require at least one air change per hour, depending on the popularity of the exhibit.
Computer modelling A useful first step is to try some computer models.
After that one should, ideally, make a series of physical models of steadily increasing size, cost, and closeness to reality. Even this proves not to be so easy. A program designed by Carsten Rode, now at the Technical University of Denmark. This calculates the heat and water flow through a wall, resulting from a defined outside and inside climate. A program designed by Hartwig K nzel and colleagues at the Fraunhofer-Institut f r Bauphysik in Holzkirchen, Germany.