Capacitive sensing of condensation and climate-induced moisture states on the surfaces of building components and materials

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A new partnership between Structure Monitoring Technology (SMT) and École de Technologie Supérieure**(ETS) is proposed to investigate the design of a sensor capable of detecting the effects of environmental**conditions on the surface characteristics of materials in building envelopes and in particular moisture and**condensation as well as their states (rain, snow, ice and frost). Knowledge of these states is critical in various**industries for assessing the condition of materials or systems constructed with them. A reliable sensor that can**detect these states automatically and continuously will have a significant positive impact on SMT's core**business in the area of building and infrastructure science.**The SMT sensor currently detects moisture when the fringing capacitance field is disrupted by water particles.**By combining relative humidity and temperature, inferences to moisture states such as rain, snow, ice and frost**are possible.**The goal of this project is to evaluate the ability of capacitive sensors to detect moisture states (i.e. rain, snow,**ice and frost). Adjustments and improvements to the fringing capacitance field may be needed in order to**distinguish between moisture particles and debris.**This research will ultimately provide SMT and the building science industry with a tool capable of monitoring**and evaluating environmental influences on materials, which will allow building control systems to mitigate**issues automatically, maintenance crews to service problematic issues within the building envelope before they**become larger problems, and in the case of infrastructure, provide motorists and maintenance crews with**knowledge and early warnings of potentially hazardous road conditions.