Accepted Manuscript Combined effects of salt, cyclic wetting and drying cycles on the physical and mechanical properties of sandstone
Qiang Sun, Yuliang Zhang PII: DOI: Reference:
S0013-7952(18)30841-X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.11.009 ENGEO 4995
To appear in:
Engineering Geology
Received date: Revised date: Accepted date:
22 May 2018 19 November 2018 20 November 2018
Please cite this article as: Qiang Sun, Yuliang Zhang , Combined effects of salt, cyclic wetting and drying cycles on the physical and mechanical properties of sandstone. Engeo (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.11.009
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Combined effects of salt, cyclic wetting and drying cycles on the physical and mechanical properties of sandstone Qiang Sun1,2, Yuliang Zhang1,3,* 1. School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou,
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Jiangsu Province 221116, P.R. China
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2. Geological Research Institute for Coal Green Mining, Xi’an University of Science and
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Technology, Xi’an 710054, P.R. China
*Corresponding author:
[email protected]
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3. School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China
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Abstract: Salt weathering has considerable effects, and it has recently become the subject of interest among researchers and engineers, especially in terms of sandstone heritage buildings and
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sandstone monuments. However, the impacts of salt weathering on sandstone after wetting-drying cycles have been neglected in the literature. Under the conditions of the long-term or gradual
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underground seepage of water into sandstone heritage buildings and monuments, salt accumulation and recrystallization occur in sandstone when the rate of evaporation is sufficiently high, and they
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reduce rock stability. In view of this problem, experiments subjecting sandstone to up to 50 wetting-drying cycles were conducted using water and solutions containing concentrations of 4%, 6% or 8% magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). The physical and mechanical properties were tested after different wetting-drying cycles. The results show that the wetting-drying cycles impacted the sandstone samples soaked in a salt solution more than the samples that were soaked in only water. Thirty cycles is the threshold number in terms of changes in P-wave velocity, thermal conductivity
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and tensile strength. A correlation analysis was conducted, and it showed that both color lightness and thermal conductivity are good parameters for evaluating tensile strength. The results contribute to the evaluation process and protection of sandstone heritage buildings and monuments against salt weathering.
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Keywords: salt weathering; sandstone heritage buildings; sandstone monuments; tensile strength;
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thermal conductivity; P-wave velocity
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1. Introduction
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Sandstone, a common sedimentary rock, is widely distributed on the earth’s surface, and it is also a material used in heritage buildings due to not only the high degree of cementation as a calcareous or
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siliceous material but also its local availability. Hence, many buildings and monuments in the past have used sandstone, as evidenced by the many sandstone heritage buildings and sandstone
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monuments. These include, for example, the Schloss Johannisburg (a château) in the Renaissance period in Germany (Siedel et al., 2003), the Corbii de Piatra church in Romania (Barzoi and Luca,
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2013), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (Franklin et al., 2014), the San Gimignano towers with Tuscany architecture in Italy (Andreotti et al., 2018) and the Angkor temples in
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Cambodia (Xu et al., 2018).
However, deterioration and even damage to heritage buildings and monuments due to salt weathering are detrimental because these structures have historic value and are irreplaceable. For example, the Great Sphinx in Egypt, which is made of limestone, is losing the intensity of the color of its face after thousands of years of weathering, and the exquisitely carved serpent tail and beard have already disappeared (Tanimoto et al., 1993). Therefore, the protection of such cultural relics is
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essential, and it has become a topic examined by many researchers with important results. For example, Smith (2009) systematically analyzed the weathering of desert rock due to temperature, moisture, salt, and chemical and biochemical reactions. Steiger et al. (2009) provided an introduction on the weathering of architectural stone due to the mechanical properties of stone,
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thermal cycling, hydric swelling, crystal growth, chemical reactions, salt and crystallization.
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Marszałek et al. (2014) presented the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of sandstone
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weathering crusts exposed to various air pollution conditions. Hua et al. (2016, 2017) studied the
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fracture toughness of sandstone after cyclic wetting and drying. Others in the literature also studied rock weathering in terms of solutional weathering processes (Wray and Sauro, 2017),
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wetting-drying cycles (Loubser, 2013), and salt recrystallization (Lindström et al., 2016; Özşen et al., 2017) or by using elastic waves to differentiate the level of weathering in rocks (Lee and Yoon,
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2017). In saline environments, salt weathering plays a dominant role in rock weathering (Jutson, 1917; Wellman and Wilson, 1965; Mottershead, 2013; Ludovico-Marques and Chastre, 2016;
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Menéndez and Petráňová, 2016). Although the origin of honeycomb weathering is not fully understood, it is strongly influenced by salt availability and the frequency of wetting and drying
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(McBride and Picard, 2004; Bruthans et al., 2018). These studies show that salt has a significant impact on rock weathering; therefore, investigating the role of salt on rock deterioration is important. To date, studies on rock weathering, especially sandstone, due to salt-related damage have focused on two interrelated aspects: 1) salt recrystallization and growth and 2) wetting-drying cycles. Table 1 provides a summary of the relevant studies in the literature. They provide the basic foundation for a better understanding of salt
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weathering of rocks; however, in reality, there is a universal problem of salt recrystallization and growth after many wetting-drying cycles. This issue often emerges from groundwater seepage or saline environments. With the seepage of groundwater through rock, the salt dissolved in water recrystallizes within cracks in sandstone by evaporation. When the pressure of recrystallization
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exceeds the strength of rock, rock fails. Few studies in the literature have examined the effect of
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recrystallization cycles on rock weathering. Based on this consideration, laboratory experiments on
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cyclic salt recrystallization in sandstone were conducted to examine its influence on sandstone
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heritage buildings and sandstone monuments. 2. Experiment
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2.1. Preparation and test principle
The sandstone rock originated from the city of Linyi city Shandong Province, China. The main
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cemented grains of the sandstone are albite and quartz in the size range of 0.1 – 2 mm. These grains are bound by calcite, which results in a relatively high strength of the sandstone.
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Eighty sandstone samples were cut into cylinders of Φ25×50 mm (diameter × height). A standard testing method recommended by the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock
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Engineering (ISRM) was used in which the difference in the distance between the top and bottom surfaces is less than 0.5 mm and the surface evenness is less than 0.1 mm. The samples were divided into 10 groups (8 samples in each group). Each group was divided into 4 subgroups and used for different cycles. Each subgroup was used for different MgSO4 concentrations. 2.2. Mineral and quantitative analyses of the sandstone
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The sandstone sample was ground into a powder finer than 400 mesh to undergo XRD, which was conducted using a D8 ADVANCE X-ray diffractometer. The voltage used was 40 kV, and the current was 30 mA using a copper (Cu) anode and nickel (Ni) filter. The radius of the measuring circle was 250 mm, the divergent slit (DS) was 0.6 mm, the scattering slit (SS) was 8 mm, the
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detector opening was 2.82°, the primary and secondary Soller slits were both 2.5°, the scanning
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speed was 0.2 s/step and the sampling interval was 0.01945°. The Rieveld-RIR method (Gualtieri
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2.3. Wetting-drying cycles conducted on sandstone
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and Artioli, 1995; Gualtieri, 1996) was used to calculate the mineral composition.
The sandstone samples were subjected to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 cycles of wetting
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and drying. In the real world there are many conditions of varying salt combinations, solution concentrations and evaporation rates. All of these factors have a great impact on salt weathering. To
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determine the effect of salt on sandstone weathering, a wetting-drying experiment was designed and conducted in a laboratory. A blank group experiment was also set without salt. In these experiments,
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MgSO4 was selected as the only salt due to its common exist in nature, and the elevated temperature was used to accelerate the experimental process. Based on these rationales, each cycle consisted of
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soaking the samples for 2 h in water or solutions that contain a concentration of 4%, 6%, or 8% MgSO4. They were then dried for 2 h in an oven at 80ºC. 2.4. Color changes The color changes of the sandstone samples after the wetting-drying cycles were examined using a TES-135A color meter, which checks the differences in colors between samples and displays them using three parameters of the CIE-L*a*b* system. The CIE-L*a*b* color space
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mathematically describes all perceivable colors in absolute values with three dimensions: L* for lightness and a* and b* for the color components of green–red and blue–yellow, respectively. The vertical axis is L*; L* has a scale of 0-100, in which 0 denotes black and 100 denotes white. The horizontal axes are a* and b*; a* and b* are the color channels in which +a* denotes the red
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spectrum, -a* denotes the green spectrum, +b* denotes the yellow spectrum and -b* denotes the
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differences were based on their unique color-space position.
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blue spectrum. Therefore, colors were identified through these L*a*b* coordinates, and their
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2.5. P-wave velocity test
The P-wave velocity test is a method for predicting the properties of materials by measuring the
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travel time of acoustic pulses. In this study, the properties of the sandstone samples were tested using an RSM-SY6 acoustic wave detector. In the testing process, the sample was placed between
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two transducers. To minimize wave attenuation, Vaseline petroleum jelly was smeared as a medium onto the transducer and the surface of the sample for maximizing acoustic coupling.
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2.6. Thermal conductivity test
Measurements of the thermal conductivity of the sandstone samples were performed using a
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transient plane source technique. A DRE-2C thermal conductivity tester was used to measure the thermal conductivity of the samples along with a communication port host, a computer and a hot disk. The hot disk is a nickel metal wire constructed in a double-spiral formation with polyimide (Kapton) (0.025 mm) as the protective outer layer, which provides the hot disk with good electrical insulation. This formation is embedded between dielectric insulation layers. It is a heat source as well as a temperature sensor. In the testing, the hot disk sensor was sandwiched between two
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samples, which have a smooth surface. The sensor generated a series of impulse currents, which results in a temperature increase. The thermal conductivity was measured by recording the temperature and response time of the hot disk sensor. 2.7. Tensile strength test
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The tensile strength test was conducted on an MTS Model 815 rock mechanics test system using the
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Brazilian disc test (BD) (ISRM 1978) by the loading speed of 0.5 mm/min. Each condition (same
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wetting-drying cycle and same concentration of MgSO4) was used to test two samples. Before
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calculation, the initiation of a crack in the BD test was checked to ensure its validity. If the crack does not initiate from the center of the BD disc, the test result is invalid for the BD test (Wong et al.,
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2014; Zhou et al., 2018; Zhou et al., 2018). The tensile strength was calculated using the following: 2𝑃
𝜎𝑡 = 𝜋𝐷𝛿
(1)
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where 𝜎𝑡 denotes the tensile strength; 𝑃 is the peak load; D denotes the diameter of the sample; and 𝛿 is the thickness of the sample.
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3. Results
3.1. Composition of minerals
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Fig. 1 shows the XRD pattern of the studied sandstone. The result shows that the mineral composition of the sandstone is quartz (14.3 wt%), albite (67.4 wt%), calcite (5.7 wt%) and laumontite (12.7 wt%). 3.2. Surface properties Fig. 2 shows the mesoscopic images of the samples soaked in water and MgSO4 solution from 0 to 45 wetting-drying cycles (0% denotes water; 4%, 6% and 8% denote solutions that contain a
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concentration of 4%, 6% and 8% MgSO4, respectively). All of the samples soaked in water had a similar surface property with no cracks. However, the samples that were soaked in MgSO4 solution showed cracks on their surface after 40 ~ 45 wetting-drying cycles. Moreover, after 40 ~ 45 cycles the samples soaked in MgSO4 solutions presented a rough surface due to detached grains, and those
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soaked in a higher concentration of MgSO4 solution (that is, 8% MgSO4) presented a very rough
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surface.
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Fig. 3 shows the color of the sandstone samples after different wetting-drying cycles. The MgSO4
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solution had a significant effect on the color as shown by the changes in the L* (Fig. 3(a)), a* (Fig. 3(b)), and b* (Fig. 3(c)) values.
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The L* value decreased with an increase in the number of cycles, but the changes in the samples soaked in water differed from those soaked in MgSO4 solution. The L* value was reduced slightly
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from ~28.5 to ~26 in the samples that were soaked in water, but it decreased substantially from ~28 to ~15 in the samples that were soaked in the solutions containing MgSO4.
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The a* value increased with the number of low cycles. At the same number of wetting-drying cycles, the a* value of the samples soaked in MgSO4 solution was larger than that of the samples
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soaked in water. Despite different initial values, all of the samples had nearly the same increase ratio, namely, there is a trend of parallel increase. Notably, it remained nearly constant after 35 cycles for the samples soaked in MgSO4 solution. The changes in the samples soaked in MgSO4 solution differed from those soaked in water. With fewer wetting-drying cycles (less than 15 cycles), the b* value of the samples soaked in MgSO4 solution was higher than that of the samples soaked in water. In contrast, with more than 45
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wetting-drying cycles the b* value of the MgSO4-soaked samples was less than that of the water-soaked group due to the rapid increase in the b* value of the latter samples. 3.3. P-wave velocity Fig. 4 shows the P-wave velocity of the sandstone samples after different numbers of
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wetting-drying cycles. In general, the P-wave velocity decreased with the increasing number of
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cycles, but differences were found with the solutions that had different concentrations of MgSO4.
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The P-wave velocity of the samples soaked in water was nearly constant at ~2.0 km/s, whereas that
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in the MgSO4 solutions decreased with the number of cycles; however, the extent and changes due to the reduction were different. A decrease in the P-wave velocity of the sample with a
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concentration of 6% MgSO4 occurred at the 25th cycle, and that for the solution containing a concentration of 8% MgSO4 occurred at the 10th cycle. The samples soaked in water and in
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solutions of 4% and 6% MgSO4 had lower P-wave velocities than those soaked in a solution of 8% MgSO4, which has a P-wave velocity of approximately 2.6 km/s at the 5th cycle and 2.2 km/s from
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the 20th to the 30th cycles. The P-wave velocity showed a slight increase from the 30th to 35th
MgSO4.
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cycles, especially for the samples soaked in solutions that contained a concentration of 6% and 8%
3.4. Thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity decreased with the increasing number of wetting-drying cycles, as shown in Fig. 5(a). The thermal conductivity was ~1.95 W/mK at 5 cycles for the samples soaked in solutions that contained a concentration of 4% and 6% MgSO4 and water and ~2.3 W/mK for the samples soaked in a solution containing 8% MgSO4. Additionally, the thermal conductivity was 1.2
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to 1.8 W/mK at 50 cycles for the samples soaked in both the MgSO4 solutions and water. Of these reductions in thermal conductivity, the most substantial reduction was found in the samples soaked in water and those soaked in the solution containing 8% MgSO4, which were reduced by 15% and 40%, respectively. Fig. 5(b) presents the relationship between thermal conductivity and the number
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of cycles. All the fitted lines show a good linear relationship, among which the slope of the samples
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soaked in 8% MgSO4 is the steepest. This indicates that greater concentrations of MgSO4 result in a
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clear reduction in the thermal conductivity.
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3.5. Tensile strength
Fig. 6 shows the tensile strength of the samples after undergoing the wetting-drying cycles. With
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more cycles, the tensile strength decreases. The tensile strength of the samples soaked in water slowly decreased with more cycles, ranging from ~3.6 to 3.2 MPa, while that of the samples soaked
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in the solution with MgSO4 quickly decreased with more cycles from the initial ~3.6 to ~2.0 MPa. The most substantial decrease in tensile strength was found in the samples soaked in the solution
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with a concentration of 4% MgSO4. After 30 cycles, the tensile strength of all samples soaked in an MgSO4 solution was substantially reduced.
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Fig. 7 shows the failure of the samples soaked in water and MgSO4 solution after 10 to 45 wetting-drying cycles. All of the samples soaked in water showed the same type of failure with a relatively straight fracture. For the samples soaked in a solution with 4% MgSO4, the fracture was also straight similar to the samples soaked in water for the first 30 cycles. After that, the fractures were irregular, similar to those of the other samples soaked in the solutions with 6% and 8% MgSO4.
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The irregularity of the fracture increases with a higher concentration of MgSO4 or more wetting-drying cycles. 3.6. Correlation analysis of parameters Fig. 8 shows the relationships between the tensile strength and color lightness, the P-wave velocity
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and thermal conductivity, and the tensile strength and thermal conductivity. Figs. 8(a) and 8(c) show
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that the tensile strength has a relatively good linear relationship with color lightness and thermal
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conductivity as determined with Eqs. (2a) and (2b). However, the tensile strength and P-wave
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velocity have different linear relationships in different MgSO4 concentrations (Fig. 8(b)) as determined with Eqs. (2c) and (2d):
R2=0.65
(2a)
𝜎𝑡 = −4.48 + 4.01𝜆,
R2=0.66
(2b)
𝜎𝑡 = −7.03 + 5.14𝑢,
R2=0.50
(2c)
R2=0.57
(2d)
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𝜎𝑡 = 0.36 + 0.11𝐿∗ ,
𝜎𝑡 = 0.79 + 1.00𝑢,
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where 𝜎𝑡 denotes the tensile strength; 𝐿∗ denotes the color lightness; 𝜆 denotes the thermal conductivity; and u donates the P-wave velocity.
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4. Discussion
Salt weathering has substantially destructive effects in porous materials such as sandstone, which is found in heritage buildings and monuments. To explore the effects of salt weathering on these sandstone structures, the physical and mechanical properties of the sandstone samples were examined after a wetting-drying process.
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In comparing the results of the samples soaked in water and the samples soaked in a solution with MgSO4, MgSO4 was found to have a significant influence on the structure of sandstone due to the pressure of salt recrystallization. The generated pressure (∆𝑝) due to recrystallization is calculated by (Wellman and Wilson, 1968): 1
1
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∆𝑝 = 2𝜎(𝑅 − 𝑟 )
(3)
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where 𝜎 is the tension between the interface of the sample soaked in the solution with MgSO4 and
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MgSO4 crystals and R is the radius of the large pores that are connected by the small pores with a
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radius r.
According to the theory in Wellman and Wilson (1968), recrystallization always occurs in large
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pores. In this experiment, an increased number of wetting-drying cycles means that the MgSO4 crystals continue to grow in the large pores due to the constant addition of solution to the salt load
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in each cycle, and then the pressure induced from crystallization onto the pore walls increases. When this pressure exceeds the tensile strength of the sandstone, cracks appear. This explains why
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the tensile strength decreases with more wetting-drying cycles. The results obtained by the color meter showed that the changes in the L* of the samples that
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were soaked in a solution with MgSO4 differed from those soaked in water (Fig. 3(a)) due to the dissolution and recrystallization of MgSO4 which change the surface property of the samples. This is evident in the mesoscopic images shown in Fig. 2. The samples soaked in a solution of MgSO 4 after 35 wetting-drying cycles present an obviously rough surface. The changes in the surface properties are due to two factors: MgSO4 crystals and reduced cementation. The latter, a result of the recrystallization of MgSO4, is considered to be the main reason for the reduction in L* and
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lower P-wave velocity as well as for the reduced thermal conductivity and tensile strength. The L* increases in the range of 45-50 cycles, reflecting the increasing concentration of MgSO4. Indeed, the substantially increasing concentration of MgSO4 starts at 35 cycles (Fig. 3(b)). The lower P-wave velocity and reduced thermal conductivity and tensile strength of sandstone
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due to salt weathering begins even before the 10th wetting-drying cycle as shown by the plotted
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P-wave velocities in Fig. 4. The P-wave velocity is sensitive to changes in the rock structure,
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especially cracks. P-waves travel through the solid-fluid-gas phases of sandstone, of which wave
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propagation through solids is the most rapid. If cracks emerge in sandstone, they impede the propagation of the P-waves, thus resulting in a reduced P-wave velocity. Fig. 4 shows that the
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P-wave velocity decreased at the 10th cycle of wetting-drying for the samples soaked in a solution with a concentration of 8% MgSO4 while remaining nearly constant for those soaked in water. Even
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though visual cracks only appeared after 40 cycles (Fig. 2), the reduction in P-wave velocity shows that microcracks have developed with fewer cycles. An unusual increase in P-wave velocity is
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observed in Fig. 4 after 30 cycles; this is due to the recrystallization of MgSO 4 filling the sandstone pores, thus resulting in the local failure in sandstone. Furthermore, a decrease in tensile strength
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occurs (Fig. 6). The high concentration of MgSO4 caused the slow reduction in tensile strength at high number of cycles, which resulted from three reasons. With the increase in cycle number, the grain contact-cementation weakens, resulting in the decrease in tensile strength. The surface roughness of the samples becomes larger, causing the stress concentration at the contact region between the sample and machine. Due to the deterioration of the sample’s surface, a big deformation occurs in this contact region, and then contact area increases and causes the calculated
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tensile strength to increase, especially at high cycles and high MgSO4 concentrations. Therefore, the tensile strength of the samples at high cycles (more than 35 cycle number) cannot be tested by the Brazilian disc test. Thermal conductivity can also be used to show crack emergence in sandstone after the
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wetting-drying cycles occur. Fig. 5 shows that the thermal conductivity of the samples soaked in a
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solution with MgSO4 is reduced with the increasing number of cycles. Therefore, thermal
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conductivity is a parameter that can denote the thermal transmission efficiency of sandstone. The thermal transmission in porous media can be determined by (Huang, 1971): 𝑛 1−
𝑛
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−
𝜆𝑠 + (𝑒
−
+
2 𝐻()
𝑛
− (1−𝑒 )
)(𝜆𝑓 + 𝜆𝑟 )
(4)
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𝜆𝑝 = (1 − )𝑒
where 𝜆𝑝 is the effective thermal conductivity of the porous media; 𝜆𝑓 is the thermal conductivity
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of the fluid phase; 𝜆𝑟 is the radiant or convection thermal conductivity of the gas phase; 𝜆𝑠 is the
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thermal conductivity of the solid phase; denotes porosity; n denotes the geometric factor of the pores; and H() is the portion of the pore space in the solid-fluid phases in the series configuration.
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According to Eq. (4), the effective thermal conductivity of the porous media is determined by the
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solid, fluid and gas phases. In the wetting-drying cycles of the sandstone in this study, all of the sample surfaces were dried, so the fluid phase was not present in the samples. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of gas is much less than that of a solid. Therefore, the solid phase plays a decisive role in heat transmission in the sandstone samples. However, the emergence of micro-cracks inhibits efficient heat transfer, and hence the thermal conductivity decreases with the increasing number of wetting-drying cycles.
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In comparing the P-wave velocity and thermal conductivity, no increase in thermal conductivity with more wetting-drying cycles was found. This is because heat transfer needs adequate space, whereas the P-wave propagation only requires connectivity of the solid. After the wetting-drying cycles occur, numerous cracks appeared inside the sandstone, and some of them may be filled with
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MgSO4 crystals after more wetting-drying cycles occur. The MgSO4 crystals are a medium for the
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propagation of P-waves, but they are insufficient for heat transfer because there are limitations in
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space. This process is illustrated in Fig. 9.
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The emergence of cracks with more wetting-drying cycles reduces the tensile strength of sandstone. Two phases were determined by the decreased ratio of tensile strength. A substantial
reduction of cementation of sandstone.
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reduction in tensile strength commenced at the 30th cycle. This is the threshold cycle due to the
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The relationships between the parameters in this study can be used as a new means to assess the status of sandstone heritage buildings and sandstone monuments. Fig. 8 shows that color lightness
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and thermal conductivity can be used to evaluate the tensile strength, which is important for rock stability. However, tensile strength and P-wave velocity do not have a linear relationship due to the
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higher P-wave velocities after 30 cycles of wetting and drying resulting from the recrystallization of MgSO4; therefore, P-wave velocity is not recommended for use in assessing the tensile strength of sandstone heritage buildings and sandstone monuments. 5. Conclusions
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Laboratory experiments involving cycles of wetting and drying were conducted. The color, P-wave velocity, thermal conductivity and tensile strength were tested after drying with different salt concentrations. The main conclusions are provided as follows. (1) After the samples soaked in a solution with MgSO4 were subjected to the wetting-drying
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cycles, the L* value of the samples gradually decreased with more cycles. The a* and b* values
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slightly increased with more cycles. After the samples soaked in water were subjected to the
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wetting-drying cycles, the L* value was nearly constant and the a* and b* values increased slightly
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with more cycles. The greatest difference that salt weathering has on sandstone color is the change in L*.
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(2) After the samples soaked in a solution with MgSO4 were subjected to wetting-drying cycles, the P-wave velocity was gradually reduced up to 30 cycles and then increased after 30 cycles. The
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P-wave velocity of the samples soaked in a solution with 8% MgSO4 showed the greatest changes. The P-wave velocity of the samples soaked in water was nearly constant after the wetting-drying
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cycles.
(3) The thermal conductivity was gradually reduced in the samples with more wetting-drying
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cycles, with a good linear relationship between thermal conductivity and the number of cycles. The decreasing ratio of thermal conductivity of the sample soaked in a solution with MgSO4 was higher than that of the samples soaked in water. Furthermore, a higher concentration of MgSO4 showed a sharply decreasing ratio of thermal conductivity. (4) After the samples soaked in a solution with MgSO4 were subjected to wetting-drying cycles, their tensile strength decreased gradually up to 30 cycles and then decreased drastically after 30
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cycles. The tensile strength of the samples soaked in water and subjected to the wetting-drying cycles decreased slightly with more cycles. (5) Thirty cycles is the threshold after which the sandstone begins to deteriorate. The recrystallization of MgSO4 is considered to be the primary reason for the reduction in color
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lightness and lower P-wave velocity, thermal conductivity and tensile strength as well as higher
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P-wave velocity after 30 cycles.
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(6) The correlation analysis of the parameters showed that color lightness and thermal
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conductivity are two useful parameters for the evaluation of tensile strength, one of the key factors for rock stability. The results show that both have a good linear relationship with tensile strength.
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Acknowledgement
This research was supported by “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (No.
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2017XKZD07). References
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Table 1 Literature related to salt weathering of rock or cyclic wetting-drying of rock. No. Rock
Main
studied
contribution
parameters
by study
of Site
Condition
Reference cycle s
Salt recrystallization
‐Navarro
under different
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Rodriguez
Limeston e
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relative humidities
-
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-
Evaporation effect on rate
Doehne
recrystallizati
1999
on. Salt
Wellman
Coastal and arid
Evaporation rate has major
and
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type
Rocks
Tested or
recrystallizati
and
Recrystallizati
on plays
Wilson
on
important role
-
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environment
1968
in rock
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weathering. Ionic diffusion and Angeli et
Stones
-
-
Recrystallizati
-
dissolution of al. 2006
on pre-existent salts are not
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efficient enough to imply
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supersaturatio
Petra in -
distribution and hygric Pore swelling are distribution;
-
Jordan
probably Ruedrich
hygric responsible
D
e
and
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2006
swelling for sandstone
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sensitivity in salt
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weathering. Wetting
Chongqin Sandston
reduces Wetting-drying
g in e
Zhao et
Tensile
0-15 cycles
China
The bimodal pore radii
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Wedekind
n.
tensile al. 2017
strength strength. Wetting-dryin
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g does not change tensile strength for 0
D
Wetting-drying
in China
P-wave velocity and dynamic
Density, water elastic absorption, modulus decrease with
Zhou et
P-wave
0-50
cycling
Density,
porosity,
more al. 2017
velocity, wetting-dryin dynamic g cycles, elastic
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e
Kunming
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Sandston
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to 14 cycles.
while porosity modulus
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increases with more wetting-dryin g cycles.
Sandston
Salt wetting-drying -
e
Ruedrich 0-20
cycles
When salt Weight
and
wetting-dryin
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Siegesmu
g cycles
nd 2007
exceed a specific
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number of
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The solute
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concentration at
D ming and poulticing
Australia
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e
reduced
the surface of
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Sydney,
weight is
drastically.
sandstone Dragovic
washing-and-vacuu Sandston
cycles, rock
from the h and
Solute
0-5
Sydney Egan
treatments
concentration Hospital and
2011 Australian Museum is increased through desalination
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treatments. In the limestone, the
Calcareo
Apulia in
0-336
Italy
0
was added to distribution,
al. 2003
the effect ion content caused by the pressure
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exerted by salt
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crystallization . Weight loss
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results when Benavent
Salt wetting-drying -
e
cement
Pore
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us rock
calcareous
dissolution
Cardell et
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Saline spray
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effect of
0-15
Dry weight
crystallization
loss
pressure
e et al.
cycles 2003
exceeds rock cohesion
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threshold. Bohemian
Salt
Salt
Switzerla
concentration,
concentration
nd
porosity,
is correlated
microporosity,
to changes in
moisture
physical
Přikryl et
Naturally weathered National
e
exposed sandstone
al. 2007
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Park in
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Sandston
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Czech
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content,
properties of
absorption
sandstone.
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Fig. 1. XRD patterns of the sandstone.
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0%
T P
I R
C S U
N A
4%
D E
T P E
A
C C
M
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6%
T P
I R
C S U
N A
8%
D E
M
T P E
C C
A (a) 10 cycles
(b) 25 cycles
(c) 30 cycles
(d) 35 cycles
(e) 40 cycles
(f) 45
cycles Fig. 2. Mesoscopic images of samples (surface properties) after wetting-drying cycles. All the pictures have a same scale: 5.8×3.2 mm.
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I R
C S U
N A
D E
T P E
A
C C
M
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Fig. 3. Changes in color of sandstone after wetting-drying cycles. (a) L* refers to light; (b) a* refers
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3 samples and more than 6 data for same cycles were tested.
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Fig. 4. P-wave velocity of sandstone samples after different wetting-drying cycles. P-wave velocity
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was obtained from 3 samples and more than 6 data for same cycles were tested.
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Fig. 5. Changes in thermal conductivity with number of cycles after wetting-drying process. Thermal conductivity was obtained from 3 samples and more than 4 data for same cycles were
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Fig. 6. Changes in tensile strength with number of wetting-drying cycles. Sample number: 3 for
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each cycle and MgSO4 concentration. Samples soaked in solution with MgSO4 were not tested after 35 cycles due to partial damage.
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0%
T P
I R
C S U
4%
N A
D E
6%
M
T P E
C C
A
8%
(a) 10 cycles cycles
(b) 25 cycles
(c) 30 cycles
(d) 35 cycles
(e) 40 cycles
(f) 45
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T P
I R
C S U
N A
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T P E
A
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Fig. 8. Relationship between parameters: (a) Tensile strength and color lightness, (b) tensile strength and P-wave velocity and (c) tensile strength and thermal conductivity. The regression function was
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determined without considering the discrete point in picture (b).
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Heat or wave in (a) Heat or wave Heat or wave
Heat or wave
Pore
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Mineral particle
Heat or wave in
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(b)
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Heat or wave out
Heat or wave
Heat or wave out
Heat or wave in
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Crack
(c)
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Heat or wave Wave
Wave
Crack MgSO4
Heat or wave out
Wave
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Fig. 9. Heat transfer and P-wave propagation in porous sandstone: (a) initial condition, (b) generation of cracks with fewer wetting-drying cycles, and (c) recrystallization of MgSO4 with
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Research highlights
A combined experiment was designed and conducted for studying salt weathering of sandstone heritage. Cyclic wetting and drying cycles substantially accelerate the weathering process.
Thirty cycles is the threshold in our results after which the sandstone begins to deteriorate.
Color and thermal conductivity were introduced for evaluating tensile strength.
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