Thermal and salt crystallization effects on marble deterioration: Examples from Western Anatolia, Turkey

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Abstract

Six commercially available and extensively used Turkish marbles having different textural properties were subjected to ageing tests in order to assess their resistance against salt crystallization with thermal effect. The change in physico-mechanical properties of the marbles including weight, dry unit weight, effective porosity, water absorption, dry and saturated sonic velocities, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), indirect (brazilian) tensile strength, flexural strength, abrasion value, and impact resistance has been determined for various stages of the ageing tests. The results are evaluated in terms of the grain size, grain boundary, and grain size distribution of the marbles. Based on the test results, the physico-mechanical properties of the marbles are not uniformly affected from the ageing tests. The water absorption, effective porosity, UCS, sonic velocity and abrasion value of the marbles are found to be good parameters to assess the deterioration and quality of the marbles, whereas the weight loss, unit weight, brazilian tensile strength and impact resistance of the marbles are not. The marbles having small grain size, dominant grain size distribution in a narrow range, and irregular grain boundary are more resistant against the ageing tests than the ones with large grain size, grain size distribution in a wide range, and straight grain boundary.

Introduction

Marble is a metamorphic rock mainly composed of calcite and/or dolomite. The marbles with different color, texture and pattern (macrostructure) were extensively used during ancient times in many archaeological sites some of which are buried. It is still an attractive natural stone to be used for inside and outside decorations of the buildings as architectural and building purposes, gravestone, or ornamental stone in Turkey and all over the world. Due to adverse environmental conditions, the marble may contain soluble salts which are originated from the ground, street, atmosphere, jointing materials and backing materials (Schaffer, 1972). Once the soluble salts are entrapped in the pores of the marble, these salts often deteriorate the stone by crystallization pressures, hydration pressure, hygroscopic water retention, and expansion-contraction of salts due to changes in temperature and moisture (Winkler, 1987, Fookes et al., 1988). Thus, it creates new cracks and/or causing granular disintegration. Furthermore, thermal heating and cooling may also cause deterioration of the marble due to anisotropic thermal expansion and contraction of the calcite (Siegesmund et al., 2000, Zeisig et al., 2002, Ondrasina et al., 2002, Weiss et al., 2002a, Weiss et al., 2003, Weiss et al., 2004, Logan, 2004, Scheffzük et al., 2004, Weiss et al., 2005). Koch and Siegesmund (2004) have moreover shown that the thermal impact is more effective when moisture is available.

The marbles having different grain sizes may show different behaviour during deterioration. Some researchers (Livingstone, 1988, Winkler, 1988) state that fine grained marbles disaggregate faster than coarse grained ones, because they contain large specific surface of calcite grains. On the contrary, others indicate that fine grained carbonate rocks generally weather more slowly than coarse grained ones due to that fact that the degree of interlocking between component minerals is stronger and the rock contains less porosity in fine grained carbonate rocks (Bell, 1993, ğ). Nevertheless, Weiss et al. (1999) suggested that the weathering of a marble is controlled by a number of different internal (rock's fabric) and external (environmental) parameters. Thus, the marbles may show different behavior during the salt crystallization tests with thermal cycling, which attempt to reproduce the effects of the salt crystallization and daily temperature changes that frequently occur under natural environmental conditions (RILEM, 1980, Rossi-Doria, 1985). Therefore, it is important to assess the resistance of the marbles against the salt crystallization with thermal effects.

In this study, six commercially available marbles (Afyon white, Belevi black, Kemalpasa white, Manyas white, Mugla white, and Sedef-Milas) which are very frequently used both in Turkey and in the world are selected (Fig. 1). All marbles were formed as a result of regional metamorphism (Serdar and Okay, 1996, Güngör and Erdoðan, 2002, Çetinkaplan, 2002, Candan et al., 2005). Salt crystallization tests are carried out on the marbles in order to assess their resistances against harsh environmental conditions. At the end of each crystallization tests, the samples are dried at 60 °C to simulate daily temperature fluctuations. Some physico-mechanical properties of the marbles such as weight, dry unit weight, effective porosity, water absorption, dry and saturated sonic velocities, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), indirect (brazilian) tensile strength, flexural strength, abrasion value, and impact resistance have been determined for various stages of the ageing tests. The results are evaluated in terms of the textural properties of the marbles.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

For the assessment of the resistance of the marbles against salt crystallization with thermal effect, six oriented fresh block samples with a dimension of at least 1 m3 and trade names of Afyon, Belevi black, Kemalpasa, Manyas, Mugla, and Sedef were taken by considering the foliation/bedding planes and representing the homogeneous part of the marbles which are sold in quarries. 1096 cube samples obtained from the block samples were prepared in the laboratory and used for the majority of the

Mineralogical and chemical properties of the marbles

For the mineralogical identification, thin sections of the marbles were studied under the polarizing optical microscope. The mineral contents were determined by a point counter. The dolomite and calcite minerals are distinguished from each other by staining technique. During the thin section studies grain size, texture, and grain boundaries of the marbles were also determined (Table 1).

The marbles mainly consist of calcite. However, the Belevi black marble (gray in color) has low amount of

Physico-mechanical properties of the marbles

A number of laboratory tests related to the physico-mechanical properties of the fresh marbles were performed. For the laboratory tests, the mainly cubic and prismatic samples were prepared. The test results are given in Table 3.

According to Anon (1979), the marbles have high density and low porosity. The rocks are generally strong to very strong (60–134 MPa). However, the Sedef marble has slightly higher UCS, which corresponds to very strong strength category. The wet-to-dry strength ratios of

Salt crystallization test

Salt crystallization tests by total immersion were carried out according to RILEM (1980) by using a 14% solution of sodium sulphate decahydrate (Na2SO4radical dot10H2O). Each of the dried fresh cube samples was placed in a separate beaker and covered to a sufficient depth with sodium sulphate solution to prevent any of the samples being exposed to the air as the solution is absorbed. Throughout the tests, the solution was kept at a room temperature. After immersion of the samples into the solution for

Discussion and conclusion

Six commercially available marbles having excellent durability were subjected to salt crystallization tests with thermal effect. Their physico-mechanical properties are not uniformly affected from the crystallization tests. The effective porosity, water absorption, and loss in abrasion of the rocks start to increase especially after 30 test cycles although no significant change in the weight and dry unit weight of the marbles is observed. On the contrary, the UCS, sonic velocity and flexural

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their thanks to the anonymous reviewers of this journal for their constructive comments and suggestions on the manuscript. The authors also thank Dr. F. Toksoy Koksal for taking microphotographs.

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