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 BRITISH STANDARD BS EN ISO
9346:1996

Thermal insulation —
Mass transfer —
Physical quantities and
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definitions

The European Standard EN ISO 9346:1996 has the status of a

British Standard

ICS 01.040.91; 01.060.20; 91.120.10

 BS EN ISO 9346:1996

Committees responsible for this

British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical

Committee RHE/9, Thermal insulating materials, upon which the following
bodies were represented:

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products Association

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
Combustion Engineering Association
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Concrete Block Association

Cork Industry Federation
Cranfield University
Department of Health
Department of the Environment (Building Research Establishment)
Department of Trade and Industry (National Physical Laboratory)
Electricity Association
Eurisol (UK Mineral Wool Association)
European Phenolic Foam Association
Gypsum Products Development Association
Power Generation Contractors’ Association (PGCA BEAMA.)
Royal Institute of British Architects
Thermal Insulation Manufacturers and Suppliers’ Association (TIMSA)
Thermal Insulations Contractors Association

The following bodies were also represented in the drafting of the standard,
through subcommittees and panels:

Calcium Silicate Brick Association

Institute of Refrigeration
SGS United Kingdom Ltd.

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Engineering
Sector Board, was published
under the authority of
the Standards Board and
comes into effect on
15 July 1996 Amendments issued since publication
© BSI 10-1999
Amd. No. Date Comments

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference RHE/9
Special announcement BSI News
August 1994

ISBN 0 580 23286 7

 BS EN ISO 9346:1996

Contents

Page
Committees responsible Inside front cover
National foreword ii
Foreword 2
Text of EN ISO 9346 3
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© BSI 10-1999 i
 BS EN ISO 9346:1996

National foreword

This British Standard has been prepared by Technical Committee RHE/9 and is
the English language version of EN ISO 9346 Thermal insulation — Mass
transfer — Physical quantities and definitions, published by the European
Committee for Standardization (CEN). It is identical with ISO 9346 published by
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
EN ISO 9346 was produced as a result of international discussion in which the
UK took an active part.
Cross-references
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International Standard Corresponding British Standard

ISO 7345:1987 BS EN ISO 7345:1996 Thermal insulation. Physical

quantities and definitions
(Identical)
ISO 9251:1987 BS EN ISO 9251:1996 Thermal insulation. Heat transfer.
Conditions and properties of materials. Vocabulary
(Identical)

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
the EN ISO title page, pages 2 to 7 and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the
inside front cover.

ii © BSI 10-1999
 EUROPEAN STANDARD EN ISO 9346
NORME EUROPÉENNE
May 1996
EUROPÄISCHE NORM

ICS 01.040.91; 01.060.20; 91.120.10

Descriptors: Thermal insulation, quantities, units of measurement, symbols, definitions

English version

Thermal insulation — Mass transfer —

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Physical quantities and definitions

(ISO 9346:1987)

Isolation thermique — Transfert de masse — Grandeurs physiques et définitions

(ISO 9346:1987)

Wärmeschutz — Stofftransport —
Physikalische Größen und Definitionen
(ISO 9346:1987)

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1995-01-05. CEN members

are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which
stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a
national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any
CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French,
German). A version in any other language made by translation under the
responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the
Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
United Kingdom.

CEN
European Committee for Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation
Europäisches Komitee für Normung
Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 36, B-1050 Brussels

© 1996 Copyright reserved to CEN members

Ref. No. EN ISO 9346:1996 E
 EN ISO 9346:1996

Foreword Contents
The text of the International Standard from Page
Technical Committee ISO/TC 163, Thermal Foreword 2
insulation, of the International Organization for
0 Introduction 3
Standardization (ISO) has been taken over as a
European Standard by Technical Committee 1 Scope and field of application 3
CEN/TC 89, Thermal performance of buildings and 2 General terms 3
building components, the secretariat of which is
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3 Physical quantities and definitions 3

held by SIS.
4 Subscripts 7
This European Standard shall be given the status of
a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by
November 1996, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by November 1996.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal
Regulations, the national standards organizations
of the following countries are bound to implement
this European Standard: Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
United Kingdom.

2 © BSI 10-1999
 EN ISO 9346:1996

0 Introduction
This International Standard forms part of a series of vocabularies related to thermal insulation.
The series will include
ISO 7345, Thermal insulation — Physical quantities and definitions.
ISO 9251, Thermal insulation — Heat transfer conditions and properties of materials — Vocabulary.
ISO 9346, Thermal insulation — Mass transfer — Physical quantities and definitions.
ISO 9229, Thermal insulation — Thermal insulating materials and products — Vocabulary.1).
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ISO 9288, Thermal insulation — Heat transfer by radiation — Physical quantities and definitions1).

1 Scope and field of application

This International Standard defines physical quantities and other terms in the field of mass transfer
relevant to thermal insulation systems, and gives the corresponding symbols and units.

2 General terms
2.1
mass transfer
transmission of mass (especially moisture or air) by various mechanisms
2.2
moisture
water in gaseous, liquid or solid phase
2.3
water vapour
moisture in the gaseous phase
2.4
water vapour diffusion
movement of water vapour molecules in a gas mixture tending to equalize the vapour content in the air or
the partial pressure of the vapour, with the total pressure being constant
2.5
water vapour convection
transfer of water vapour in a gas mixture by movement of the whole gas mixture due to a difference in total
pressure
2.6
hygroscopic sorption curve
relation between moisture content in a porous material and the relative humidity of the ambient air at
equilibrium
NOTE There are curves for sorption and for desorption. Because of measuring difficulties there is an upper limit for the relative
humidity at 95 % to 98 %.
2.7
suction curve
relation between the equalized moisture content in a porous material and the suction (negative pore
pressure) in the pore water
NOTE Generally there are curves for sorption and for desorption. Theoretically the suction curve covers the whole moisture range,
from absolute dryness to full saturation.

1)
At present at the stage of draft.

© BSI 10-1999 3
 EN ISO 9346:1996

3 Physical quantities and definitions; Symbol Unit

3.1 humidity by volume : Mass of water vapour divided by the volume of the gaseous v kg/m3
mixture.
NOTE 1 Humidity by volume is the same as the partial mass density of water vapour, Õv.

NOTE 2 At saturation the notations vsat and Õv,sat are used.

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3.2 humidity by mass : Mass of water vapour divided by the mass of dry air. x kg/kg
NOTE At saturation the notation xsat is used.

3.3 partial water vapour pressure : Partial pressure of water vapour in a gaseous pv Pa
mixture.
NOTE At saturation the notation psat is used.

3.4 relative humidity : Actual humidity by volume divided by humidity by volume at Ì

saturation at the same temperature :

NOTE Assuming an ideal gas behaviour

3.5 specific enthalpy : Enthalpy divided by mass. h J/kg

3.5.1 specific latent enthalpy of evaporation or condensation he J/kg
3.5.2 specific latent enthalpy of melting (or freezing) hm J/kg
3.6 moisture content mass by volume : Mass of evaporable water divided by volume
of material. w kg/m3
NOTE Volume of material can either be that of wet state or dry state and shall be specified when quoting
moisture content. The method of evaporating water from a moist material must be stated.
3.7 moisture content volume by volume : Volume of evaporable water divided by
volume of material. Ó m3/m3
NOTE Volume of material can either be that of wet state or dry state and shall be specified when quoting
moisture content. The method of evaporating water from a moist material must be stated.
3.8 moisture content mass by mass : Mass of evaporable water divided by mass of
material. u kg/kg
NOTE Mass of material can either be that of wet state or dry state and shall be specified when quoting
moisture content. The method of evaporating water from a moist material must be stated.
3.9 degree of saturation : Mass of water in a porous-body divided by the mass of
water at saturation. S
NOTE The method of reaching saturation must be stated.

3.10 suction : The pressure difference between the pore water pressure and the
ambient total pressure. s Pa
3.11 moisture flow rate : Mass of moisture transferred to or from a system divided by
time. G kg/s
3.12 density of moisture flow rate : Moisture flow rate divided by area. g kg/(m2·s)
3.13 water vapour diffusion coefficient in the air : Quantity defined by the
following relation : D m2/s

4 © BSI 10-1999
 EN ISO 9346:1996

Symbol Unit

where
g is the vector density of water vapour flow rate in air;
v is the humidity by volume.
NOTE Fick’s law describes water vapour diffusion in air.
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3.14 moisture permeability : Quantities defined by the following relations.

a) permeability with regard to humidity by volume
¸v m2/s

b) permeability with regard to partial vapour pressure

¸p kg/(m·s·Pa)

where
g is the vector density of moisture flow rate;
v is the humidity by volume in the pores;
pv is the partial vapour pressure in the pores.
NOTE Water vapour transmission through porous materials can be related to different driving
mechanisms. Humidity by volume or partial vapour pressure are commonly used.
The word diffusion should not be used in this context, as part of the moisture flow is in liquid phase.

The transfer coefficients are dependent on the level of the corresponding relative humidity or moisture
content of the material.
3.15 moisture permeance : Quantities defined by the following relations:
a) permeance with regard to humidity by volume
g = Wv(v1 – v2) Wv m/s
b) permeance with regard to partial vapour pressure
g = Wp(p1 – p2) Wp kg/(m2·s·Pa)
where
g is the density of moisture flow rate perpendicular to the surfaces of a layer;
v1 and v2 are the ambient humidities by volume of air;
p1 and p2 are ambient partial vapour pressures.
3.16 moisture resistance : The inverse of moisture permeance.
a) moisture resistance with regard to humidity to volume
Zv s/m

b) moisture resistance with regard to partial vapour pressure

Zp m2·s·Pa/kg

3.17 moisture resistance factor : Water vapour diffusion coefficient in air, D, È

divided by the moisture permeability, ¸v of a porous material.
3.18 moisture diffusivity : Quantity defined by the following relation. Dw m2/s

© BSI 10-1999 5
 EN ISO 9346:1996

Symbol Unit

where
g is the vector density of moisture flow rate;
w is the moisture content mass by volume.
NOTE Moisture diffusivity and moisture conductivity are principally used to describe moisture
transfer in the liquid phase, but they include also the gaseous phase.
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3.19 moisture conductivity : Quantity defined by the following relation: Æm kg/(m·s·Pa)

where
g is the vector density of moisture flow rate;
s is the suction.
NOTE Moisture diffusivity and moisture conductivity are principally used to describe moisture
transfer in the liquid phase, but they include also the gaseous phase.
3.20 surface coefficient of water vapour transfer : Quantity defined by the
following relations :
a) g = ¶v (va — vs) ¶v m/s
b) g = ¶p(pva – pvs) ¶p kg/(m2·s·Pa)
where
g is the density of moisture flow rate;
va and vs are the humidities by volume of ambient and at the surface
respectively;
pva and pvs are the partial vapour pressures of ambient air and at the surface
respectively.
3.21 moisture differential capacity : Quantity defined by the following relation.
ß kg/m3

where
w is the moisture content mass by volume;
Ì is the relative humidity.
NOTE This value indicates the tangent of the hygroscopic sorption curve.

3.22 thermal diffusion coefficient of moisture : Quantity defined by the

following relation :
DÙ kg/(m·s·K)

where
g is the vector density of moisture flow rate;
T is the temperature.
NOTE The thermal diffusion coefficient is dependent on how the flow related to moisture gradients
is described.
3.23 water sorption coefficient : Quantity defined by the following relation :
A kg/(m2·s1/2)
ms = A t

where
ms is the mass divided by area of sorbed water from a water surface;

6 © BSI 10-1999
 EN ISO 9346:1996

Symbol Unit

t is time.
3.24 water penetration coefficient : Quantity defined by the following relation :
x = B t B m/s1/2
where
x is the penetration depth of the water front during sorption from a water
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surface;
t is time.
3.25 air flow rate : Volume of air transferred to or from a system divided by time. R m3/s
3.26 density of air flow rate : Air flow rate divided by area. r m3/(m2·s)
3.27 permeability of a porous medium : Quantity defined by the following
relation :
k m2

where
r is the vector density of flow rate in a porous medium;
p is the fluid pressure;
½ is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid at constant temperature.
3.28 air permeance : Quantity defined by the following relation : K m3/(m2·s·Pa)
r = K(p1 – p2)
where
r is the density of air flow rate through a layer;
p1 and p2 are the ambient air pressure.
NOTE The term K for air permeance includes the effect of the viscosity of air at constant
temperature.
3.29 air resistance : Reciprocal of air permeance : S m2·s·Pa/m3

4 Subscripts
v vapour
w water, liquid
sat saturation
a ambient

© BSI 10-1999 7
 BS EN ISO
9346:1996
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