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Water uptake experiments of historic construction materials from Venice by neutron imaging and PGAI methods

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Abstract

We aimed at establishing a multidisciplinary procedure to characterize porous historic construction materials, whose properties (physical and mechanical, as well as chemical composition) can be affected by the presence and action of water content and salt ions. The whole procedure’s objective is to relate qualitative to quantitative information, to get an evaluation of the selected material’s mechanical properties. We developed a neutron-based investigation technique to assess the condition of historic buildings’ construction materials. Neutron radiography and tomography, as well as prompt-gamma activation analysis and imaging were applied to various types of stone blocks (which can be characterized e.g. with different levels of liquid permeability in saturated conditions) to detect the uptake of water and salt ions in porous construction materials of cultural heritage significance. The results enlighten the accurate water intrusion patterns, the evaluation of the water content in unsaturated conditions, the movement of water and salt contents inside the stone samples. The established methodology may find its application niche in the non-destructive assessment of historic and contemporary building construction materials.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Fabrizio Antonelli and Dr Alberto Conventi at IUAV—LAMA (Laboratory of Analysis of Ancient Materials at IUAV University of Venice) for their help and support. The authors acknowledge the financial support of the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme NMI3-II Transnational Access Programme (Grant Number 283883).

Funding

This study was funded by European Union’s 7th Framework Programme NMI3-II Transnational Access Programme (Grant Number 283883).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Analysis and Radiography Department, Centre for Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA EK), 29-33 Konkoly-Thege Miklós Street, Budapest, 1121, Hungary

    Zoltán Kis & László Szentmiklósi

  2. Department of Design and Planning in Complex Environments, Università Iuav di Venezia, Santa Croce 191 Tolentini, 30135, Venice, Italy

    Francesca Sciarretta

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  1. Zoltán Kis
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  2. Francesca Sciarretta
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Correspondence to Zoltán Kis.

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Kis, Z., Sciarretta, F. & Szentmiklósi, L. Water uptake experiments of historic construction materials from Venice by neutron imaging and PGAI methods. Mater Struct 50, 159 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-017-1004-z

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