Abstract
Durability of building stones is an important issue in sustainable development. Crystallization of soluble salts is recognized as one of the most destructive weathering agents of building stones. For this reason, durability of Ghaleh-khargushi rhyodacite and Gorid andesite from Iran was investigated against sodium sulfate crystallization aging test. Petrographic and physico-mechanical properties and pore size distribution of these stones were examined before and after the aging test. The characteristics of the microcracks were quantified with fluorescence-impregnated thin sections. Durability and physico-mechanical characteristics of Ghaleh-khargushi rhyodacite are mainly influenced by preferentially oriented preexisting microcracks. Stress induced by salt crystallization led to the widening of preexisting microcracks in Ghaleh-khargushi rhyodacite, as confirmed by the pore size distributions before and after the aging test. The preexisting microcracks of Gorid andesite were attributed to the mechanical stress induced by contraction of lava during cooling. The number of transcrystalline microcracks was significantly increased after the aging test. The degree of plagioclase microcracking was proportional to its size. Durability of the studied stones depends on initial physico-mechanical properties, pore size distribution, and orientation of microcracks. Initial effective porosity is found to be a good indicator of the stones’ durability. Salt crystallization resulted in an increase in the effective porosity with a parallel decrease in the wave velocities. Surface microroughness parameters increased with the development of salt crystallization-induced microcracking. Gorid andesite showed higher quality and durability than Ghaleh-khargushi rhyodacite.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by Tarbiat Modares University of Tehran and the Community of Madrid under the GEOMATERIALS-2CM Program (S2013/MIT-2914). Ministry of Science and Technology of Iran financed the stay of the first author in Madrid for six months to conduct research. Sample preparation, strength and physical properties, wave velocity, and salt crystallization tests were run at Department of Engineering Geology of Tarbiat Modares University. The assistance provided by XRD laboratory technician of Tarbiat Modares University of Mohammad Yusefi is gratefully acknowledged. The authors wish to thank Mr. Yasin Kazemi for preparing simplified geological maps. Leeb hardness, mercury porosimetry, surface microroughness, colorimetry tests, and preparation of fluorescence-impregnated thin sections were performed at the IGEO (CSIC, UCM) Petrophysic Laboratory. The authors wish to thank Pedro Vicente Lozano Carrasco, a member of laboratory staff of Petrology and Geochemistry Department of Complutense University of Madrid for helping in preparing fluorescence-impregnated thin sections. Authors are grateful to the Cristian Zapatero Martín, a member of Petrophysic Laboratory of IGEO (CSIC, UCM) for performing mercury porosimetry tests and helping in mosaics preparation.
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Zalooli, A., Freire-Lista, D.M., Khamehchiyan, M. et al. Ghaleh-khargushi rhyodacite and Gorid andesite from Iran: characterization, uses, and durability. Environ Earth Sci 77, 315 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7485-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7485-4