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Specification and correlation of damage category over 7 years on sandstone wall of Aachen City, Germany, case study

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Abstract

Rocks’ weathering has been reported world-wide on all sub-aerial materials at a wide range of environmental conditions. It occurs at rates dependent on the durability of rocks, the number, and the intensity of weathering cycles. A wide spectrum of weathering forms and damage categories can result from weathering processes. This paper focuses on the specification and correlation of damage categories on an ancient sandstone wall of Aachen City, Germany. For this purpose, site investigations are conducted using a non-destructive technique for a period from August 2007 to August 2014. The comparison of weathering forms and their dimensions for a period of 7 years enables us determining the weathering progress expressed by an increase in the dimensions of weathering forms and/or creation of new weathering forms on this building material. Thereby, it can be decided whether any restoration is necessary for some parts or all parts of the wall or not. Assuming that the environmental conditions do not change significantly, this study also shows which weathering form or weathering group resulted in higher ranks of damage category at the present time and in the future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are greatly thankful for the financial support of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) to conduct this research that is part of the full project plan conducted under WAP (Bilateral Exchange) program of the DAAD at Aachen Univ., Germany

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Correspondence to Gamal Mohamed Esawy Kamh.

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Kamh, G.M.E., Koltuk, S. Specification and correlation of damage category over 7 years on sandstone wall of Aachen City, Germany, case study. Arab J Geosci 8, 9325–9343 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1901-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1901-9

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