Evolution of moisture transport properties in cement mortar under marine salt spray environment

Evolution of moisture transport properties in cement mortar under marine salt spray environment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Evolution of moisture transport properties in cement mortar under marine salt spray environment Bing Li, Saierjiang Halike, Xiyang Dai, Simin He, Roberto Giordano, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8179886/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in npj Heritage Science → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Chronic salt spray exposure induces microstructural evolution in historic building materials, critically altering their hygrothermal performance through modified pore networks and capillary dynamics. This study systematically investigates the humidity-regulated transition of the water vapor permeability coefficient ( δ v )—a key parameter governing moisture transfer in building envelopes—under marine aerosol conditions. Through accelerated salt spray cycling (35 cycles, 5% NaCl solution) combined with dry-cup/wet-cup measurements across contrasting humidity gradients (0→50% vs. 50→98% RH), cement mortar exhibited distinctly opposing δ v responses: a 31.3% reduction under low humidity due to crystalline pore blockage, contrasting with a 239.4% enhancement at high humidity caused by deliquescence-induced brine migration. A predictive piecewise model (R² > 0.95) based on salt influence factors and critical humidity thresholds was developed. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed NaCl crystallization preferentially occupying 0.02–0.12 μm pores within the top 2 mm, reducing effective porosity by 42% while establishing two distinct transport modes: pore occlusion by crystals (dry state) and interconnected brine networks (humid state). These findings provide a mechanistic framework for predicting moisture dynamics in porous building materials under salt spray environments, enabling accurate hygrothermal simulations that improve resilience and durability predictions for coastal historic buildings. Coastal Climate Cement Mortar Salt Crystallization Water Vapor Permeability Heritage Conservation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in npj Heritage Science → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 25 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 22 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8179886","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":552108498,"identity":"c7b6b854-f8f9-425d-aa4d-fff72f374980","order_by":0,"name":"Bing 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environment","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-heritage-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hsci","sideBox":"Learn more about [Heritage Science](http://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com)","snPcode":"40494","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40494/3","title":"npj Heritage Science","twitterHandle":"@SpringerOpen","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Coastal Climate, Cement Mortar, Salt Crystallization, Water Vapor Permeability, Heritage Conservation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8179886/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8179886/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eChronic salt spray exposure induces microstructural evolution in\u0026nbsp;historic building materials, critically altering their hygrothermal performance through modified pore networks and capillary dynamics. This study systematically investigates the\u0026nbsp;humidity-regulated \u0026nbsp;transition\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;of the water vapor permeability coefficient (\u003cem\u003eδ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ev\u003c/sub\u003e)—a key parameter governing moisture transfer in building envelopes—under marine aerosol conditions. Through accelerated salt spray cycling (35 cycles, 5% NaCl solution) combined with dry-cup/wet-cup measurements across contrasting humidity gradients (0→50% vs. 50→98% RH), cement mortar exhibited\u0026nbsp;distinctly opposing \u003cem\u003eδ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ev\u003c/sub\u003e responses: a\u0026nbsp;31.3% reduction\u0026nbsp;under low humidity due to crystalline pore blockage,\u0026nbsp;contrasting with a 239.4% enhancement\u0026nbsp;at high humidity caused by deliquescence-induced brine migration. A predictive piecewise model (R² \u0026gt; 0.95) based on salt influence factors and critical humidity thresholds was developed. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed NaCl crystallization preferentially occupying 0.02–0.12 μm pores within the top 2 mm, reducing effective porosity by 42% while\u0026nbsp;establishing two distinct transport modes: pore occlusion by crystals (dry state) and interconnected brine networks (humid state). These findings provide a mechanistic framework for predicting moisture dynamics in porous building materials under salt spray environments, enabling accurate hygrothermal simulations that improve resilience and durability\u0026nbsp;predictions for coastal\u0026nbsp;historic buildings.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Evolution of moisture transport properties in cement mortar under marine salt spray environment","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-01 13:16:06","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8179886/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"190213666876440204341654006331472493157","date":"2025-12-01T06:45:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-26T05:31:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-26T03:45:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-26T03:44:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"npj heritage science","date":"2025-11-22T10:41:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-heritage-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hsci","sideBox":"Learn more about [Heritage Science](http://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com)","snPcode":"40494","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40494/3","title":"npj Heritage Science","twitterHandle":"@SpringerOpen","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a8340ef5-1b68-4c23-863b-f9d679db7634","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 1st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-04T16:07:01+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-8179886","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-026-02562-z","journal":{"identity":"npj-heritage-science","isVorOnly":false,"title":"npj Heritage Science"},"publishedOn":"2026-04-27 15:57:54","publishedOnDateReadable":"April 27th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-01 13:16:06","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s40494-026-02562-z","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-026-02562-z","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8179886","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8179886","identity":"rs-8179886","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}