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Ultrasonic tomography: non-destructive evaluation of the weathering state on a marble obelisk, considering the effects of structural properties

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Abstract

The use of ultrasonic methods for a non-destructive investigation of immovable, high-ranking cultural heritage, landmark buildings, and sculptures made of natural stone, has developed into the state-of-the-art testing throughout the last 20 years. This routinely applied transmission method gives information about the rock as a whole, but no detailed information concerning the internal structures. Onsite measurements have been executed in a tomographic approach for a marble obelisk in the Neuer Garten, Potsdam (Germany) to obtain an assessment on its internal weathering conditions. Detailed mapping of macroscopically visible structures and weathering phenomena has been performed on a scale of 1:1, to prove the validity of this data. The rock properties for the same marble variety were examined under laboratory conditions to gain data on their directional dependence, influencing factors like water content and artificial weathering behaviour. These results were used to cross check the ultrasonic measurements onsite and the tests under laboratory conditions, to obtain a reliable interpretation. The ultrasonic velocity distributions measured under defined conditions, revealed a possible anisotropy between 9 and 30%, which is a basic input parameter for the calculated tomograms. The synthetic tomograms clearly show the great impact of anisotropy considering the velocity distribution modelled for the measured planes. Based on the laboratory data, an amount of 20% anisotropy was applied to the tomograms, which improved the ability to distinguish the velocity variation due to deterioration from that caused by rock fabric. The results demonstrate that the rock fabric and its anisotropy need to be considered for interpreting the tomographic investigation. Before an adequate assertion can be made, the above influences must be considered as a basis for conservation purposes.

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(adapted from Rüdrich 2003), b c-axes distribution analysed for the Prieborn marble, considering orientation of the foliation, as well as for c velocity distribution for a water-saturated Prieborn sphere, in both plots the greyish layer stands for the foliation, d is the calculated intrinsic velocity distribution, based on ODF data for a polycrystalline Prieborn marble (lower hemisphere, stereographic projection)

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser and Gärten, contributing Fig. 1 and especially Dipl. Ing. S. Kiefer for providing the necessary elevation platform and the great organisation in Potsdam. We also thank Dr. M. Stanek, for his enthusiastic support during the measurements, as well as Fraunhofer IBMT, especially K.- P. Weber and J. Oevermann for their help and support with the ultrasound equipment. For his critical, constructive, and very helpful review, we gratefully acknowledge H. Dürrast, who helped to improve this work. Furthermore, we would like to especially thank R. Hielscher, D. Mainprice, and D. Nikolayev for their help with Mtex and the textural data. The study on the obelisk has been supported by the BMBF (Marmorbild FKZ: 03VP00292), which we gratefully acknowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geoscience Centre, University Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Johanna Menningen, Siegfried Siegesmund & Markus Träupmann

  2. GeoTom, LLC, 13785 Diamond Path, Apple Valley, MN, 55124, USA

    Daryl Tweeton

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  1. Johanna Menningen
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  2. Siegfried Siegesmund
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  4. Markus Träupmann
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Correspondence to Johanna Menningen.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on “Stone in the Architectural Heritage: from quarry to monuments – environment, exploitation, properties and durability”, guest edited by Siegfried Siegesmund, Luís Sousa, and Rubén Alfonso López-Doncel.

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Menningen, J., Siegesmund, S., Tweeton, D. et al. Ultrasonic tomography: non-destructive evaluation of the weathering state on a marble obelisk, considering the effects of structural properties. Environ Earth Sci 77, 601 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7776-9

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