Innovative and easy-to-implement moisture monitoring system for brick units

The system measures the change in electrical resistance due to the presence of water. It is composed of an electronic board and brick (P20) instrumented with graphite electrode-couple sensors. It is mainly designed for the laboratory evaluation of rain penetration in masonry components. The system successfully monitors the change in moisture content correctly detecting storage and transport mechanisms. Compared to similar systems it is cost-effective with easy fabrication and installation, fostering non-destructive, repeatable measurements with adequate space and time resolution, identifying transient conditions at different depths into building components. Application to real structures is proposed as future work.