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Effect of high temperatures on the mechanical and thermal properties of Notre-Dame de Paris Lutetian limestone

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Abstract

This study aims to determine mechanical and thermal properties of Saint-Maximin limestone, similar to the Lutetian stone found in the vaults of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, and their variations after heating–cooling cycles at temperatures up to 800 °C. An extensive experimental campaign, including both destructive and non-destructive testing, was carried out. The results indicate that the samples can be considered to be isotropic, and the effect of temperature on Poisson's ratio, static modulus of elasticity, compressive and tensile strengths were measured. Non-destructive testing revealed that the usual correlation equations between ultrasonic measurements and mechanical properties are not valid for heated stone samples, particularly when estimating Poisson's ratio. An alternative measurement method using impulse modal analysis was proposed to overcome this issue. Uniaxial compressive tests on specimens of different geometries were used for the estimation of shape factors specific to Saint-Maximin stone. Some of these shape factors contradict the current European standard for stone, which seems to overestimate the effect of slenderness. The study also suggests shape factors after heating at 300 °C and 600 °C to account for the effect of heating on the compressive strength. The results demonstrate that, while the correlations established for stones at room temperature remain valid, they are not necessarily accurate after a heating–cooling cycle. This study provides important information for the numerical modelling of this material from mechanical and thermal perspectives.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the French National Research Agency (ANR) for supporting their investigations, and to Rocamat for providing the stone samples. The authors thank Susan Becker for her help in proofreading.

Funding

Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-20-CE22-0004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LMDC, Université de Toulouse, INSA/UPS Génie Civil, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077, Toulouse Cedex 04, France

    Colin Guenser, Pierre Morenon & Nathalie Domede

  2. LMGC, IMT Mines Ales, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ales, France

    Colin Guenser, Stéphane Corn & Marie Salgues

  3. Toulouse Tech Transfer, 118 Route de Narbonne, CS 24246, 31432, Toulouse Cedex 04, France

    Pierre Morenon

Authors
  1. Colin Guenser
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  2. Stéphane Corn
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  3. Marie Salgues
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  4. Pierre Morenon
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  5. Nathalie Domede
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Resources and equipment were provided by S. Corn and M. Salgues. Material preparation, data collection, analysis and writing of the first draft were carried out by C. Guenser. The manuscript was discussed and revised by all authors. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript. The study was supervised by N. Domede.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colin Guenser.

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Conflict of interest

The investigations and results reported here were supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the grant ANR-20-CE22-0004 (DEMMEFI research program). The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

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Guenser, C., Corn, S., Salgues, M. et al. Effect of high temperatures on the mechanical and thermal properties of Notre-Dame de Paris Lutetian limestone. Mater Struct 57, 81 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-024-02354-6

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