Ministry of Culture, 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric & Classical Antiquities, Stoa Vardinogianni, 4th oor, 73100 Hania, Crete, Greece
b Technical University of Crete, Department of Science, 73100 Hania, Greece
c Technical University of Crete, Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, 73100 Hania, Greece
Received 20 December 2005; accepted 7 August 2006
Abstract
Deteriorated porous bioclastic limestones from the archaeological area of Aptera, Crete, Greece, were treated with silicon-based strengthening
products, tetraethoxysilanes, elastified silicic acid ethyl esters, an aqueous colloidal dispersion of silica particles, as well as an oligomeric siloxane
water repellent. Changes in color, water vapor permeability, water absorption by capillary suction, porosity and pore size distribution were evaluated
after treatment. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicate the penetration depth of the applied
products. The effectiveness of strengthening was also evaluated by measuring the tensile strength. The pore size distribution was insignificantly
modified decreasing only the ratio of coarse pores. The applied products penetrated up to a depth of 30 mm. All the studied products create linkages
across the interface between calcite and the alkoxysilanes-derived gels, due to the hydroxyl groups of the quartz included in the limestones. Better
reinforcing results were obtained by applying the elastified silicic acid ethyl ester. The elastified silicic acid ethyl ester confers chromatic stability
on the stone, shows insignificant modification of the water vapor permeability and reduces the absorbed quantity of water.
2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Strengthening agents; Porous limestones; Penetration depth; EDXRF; Pore size distribution; Elastified silicic acid ethyl ester
1. Introduction
The use of strengthening agents for improving the physicochemical and mechanical properties of deteriorated exposed
stone is an irreversible intervention. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to the assessment of the possible strengthening agents. Stone consolidation is performed when serious
decay patterns and loose cohesion is encountered down to a certain depth [1]. Stone strengtheners slow down the rate of surface
loss by binding loosened grains. Consolidation should improve
internal cohesion without altering other physical properties of
the stone. The penetration depth of stone strengtheners through
the deteriorated zone is critical for achieving a successful consolidation. The penetration of the consolidant depends on the
microstructural characteristics of the stone and especially the
pore size, as well as the intrinsic properties of the consolidant
like viscosity and surface tension of the liquid.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 28210 37661; fax: +30 28210 94487.
E-mail address: nmaravel@electronics.tuc.gr (P. Maravelaki-Kalaitzaki).
0300-9440/$ see front matter 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.porgcoat.2006.08.007
The choice of alkoxysilanes for the consolidation of carbonate stones relies on the current absence of adequate products. In
an attempt to improve the insufficient binding of the gel to the
carbonic surface, some research groups have altered the minerals surface by creating hydroxyl groups that can react with
alkoxysilanes [5]; this process consumes some calcite. Another
approach is to employ alkoxysilanes coupling agents, in which
the R group is compatible with the calcite substrate and the
silanol or silicate groups on the coupling agent are compatible
with the alkoxysilanes-derived gels [6].
The second drawback of alkoxysilanes associated with their
tendency to crack with drying and shrinkage has been addressed
by introducing segments of linear siloxanes that link up with the
larger silicate networks of the gel [7]. In this way, thin elastic
films (elastified silicic acid ethyl esters) develop on the surface
of the macropores, and bind the components together by forming bridges of bigger gel flakes. Another research group noted
that capillary pressure competes with the elastic modulus of the
gels shrinkage [8]; they proposed the addition of small particles (2 m) in silica sols in order to increase the moduli and
therefore, the resulting gels experience reduced shrinkage.
The aim of this work was to investigate the performance of
certain consolidants, such as tetraethoxysilanes, elastified silicic
acid ethyl esters, an aqueous colloidal dispersion of silica particles, as well as an oligomeric siloxane water repellent applied on
bioclastic micritic porous limestones. The criteria for the selection of the products for stone treatment were the frequency of
their use and the suggestions of the recent literature. The evaluation was based on measuring chromatic parameters, water
vapor permeability and water absorption by capillarity, porosity
and pore size distribution, and tensile strength. Special attention
was devoted to the determination of the penetration depth of the
consolidants through the non-destructive analytical technique
energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). This technique,
if combined with a micro-drilling process providing powder of
the sample at different depths from the surface, can be also
applied in situ. The product penetration depth determined by
EDXRF was compared with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with energy
dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS) analyses. An evaluation
of the mechanism of the treatment is suggested, in order to
improve the requirements for an efficient application.
2. Experimental
2.1. Stones
The examined porous stone of carbonate nature frequently
occurs in the historic masonry of Crete, Greece. The studied
samples originate from the archaeological area of Aptera, Hania,
Crete, Greece. The examined lithotype (40 samples) is a bioclastic micritic limestone, which consists mostly of calcium
carbonate (approximately 95%) with small amounts of quartz
and plagioclases.
The mineralogical characterization of the stone was carried
out by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD, Siemens D-500) of
finely pulverized samples for the identification of the mineral
141
142
Table 1
Properties of the used consolidation products
Product
Application mode
Manufacturer/supplier
Composition
SiO2 (%,
w/w)
Viscosity
(25 C, cp)
Specific gravity
(15 C, g/cm3 )
KEIM-Silex OH (KS)
Ethyl silicate PHASE (ES)
PHASE PLUS 5035 (PP)
Hydrophase -Plus (HP)
Ludox HS30 (LD)
Capillarity
Brushing
Pipette
Brushing
Pipette
KEIM FARBEN
PHASE Srl
PHASE Srl
PHASE Srl
GRACE
Tetraethylsilicate
Tetraethylsilicate
Tetraethylsilicate and silane
Oligomeric siloxane
Colloidal silica (water solvent) 12 nm
33
40
40
45
30
<2
3.3
3.3
3.8
6.4
0.940.97
0.70
0.90
0.75
1.201.22
far as porosity and pore size distribution are concerned, the studied limestone has been differentiated into two categories (AM1
and AM2) by the average pore radius, which is quadruple in
one category (AM1) as compared to the other (AM2). The other
properties reported in Table 3, such as bulk density and specific surface area are in close relationship with the average pore
radius. High specific surface is associated with low pore radius
and low bulk density. The building stones AM2 characterized
by a low average pore radius show good construction properties as they register higher tensile strength and therefore behave
properly in the fortification walls against mechanical stress.
3.2. Efciency of the applied consolidants
3.2.1. Changes of the chromatic coordinates, water vapor
permeability and capillarity coefcients
Table 4 shows the changes of the chromatic coordinates for
the treated stones originating from monuments (AM1 and AM2).
For the calculation of the chromatic variations the untreated
stone was selected as reference area. L* refers to the brightness, while a* and b* to the redgreen and yellowblue color,
respectively. The L = Lt Lun value describes a change in
brightness, where positive values of L* correspond to treated
samples (index t), which reflect more light than untreated samples (index un). Positive values of a* and b* indicate that the
treated samples are more red and yellow, respectively, than the
untreated. The E* value, given in Eq. (1), represents the color
change between the treated and the untreated surface.
1.05
0.29
0.06
0.31
52.44
2.11
0.75
42.35
Total
99.36
(g/cm3 )
Bulk density
Specific surface area (m2 /g)
Average pore radius (m)
Total porosity (%)
Capillarity coefficient (kg/m2 h1/2 )
Water vapor permeability
coefficient (g/m2 24 h mmHg)
Tensile strength (MPa)
Table 5
Variations (% reduction) of the water vapor permeability (WVP) and capillarity
absorption coefficients (CA) of treated limestones
AM1
AM2
2.10 (0.05)
1.3 (0.3)
1.8 (0.3)
22.9 (3.2)
0.0036 (0.0001)
0.18 (0.01)
2.06 (0.11)
2.2 (0.5)
0.5 (0.1)
21.1 (2.9)
0.0032 (0.0002)
0.16 (0.01)
2.8 (0.9)
4.5 (0.9)
a*
b*
Sample
WVP (%)
CA (%)
AM1
KS
KS + PP
ES + HP
ES + PP
PP + HP
PP
LD
53.33
66.67
78.57
62.55
52.63
22.82
64.44
16.67
29.27
51.87
33.12
69.70
38.46
12.06
AM2
KS
KS + PP
KS + HP
ES + HP
PP + HP
PP
LD
58.67
63.75
73.83
49.00
52.08
24.33
75.76
11.11
34.58
63.09
60.38
54.55
32.31
15.25
E*
AM1
KS
KS + PP
ES + HP
ES + PP
PP + HP
PP
LD
2.31
1.36
7.73
6.02
0.56
1.02
16.00
0.87
1.86
0.86
1.45
0.60
1.53
2.54
0.25
1.29
1.46
1.25
0.33
0.24
2.25
2.48
2.64
7.91
6.32
0.88
1.85
16.36
AM2
KS
KS + PP
KS + HP
ES + HP
PP + HP
PP
LD
1.11
1.49
0.99
5.89
0.76
1.00
15.98
0.14
0.97
0.70
0.93
0.38
0.16
0.79
3.07
3.84
2.97
3.17
0.82
0.09
4.14
3.27
4.23
3.21
6.75
1.18
1.02
16.53
143
Fig. 1. X-ray yield of silicon and calcium is shown for the treated surface (0 mm)
and at a depth from the surface of 10 mm for an AM1 limestone treated with PP.
144
Fig. 3. Absorbed product amount (mg/cm2 0.01) and ratio of the tensile
strengths of treated and untreated samples.
Fig. 2. Absorbed product amount (mg/cm2 0.07) and silicon yield (SY) measured by EDXRF at depths from the surface of 0, 1, 10 and 30 mm.
the treated surface and the opposite untreated side, were used in
order to estimate the penetration depth of the studied products.
The ratio of the EDXRF Si and Ca yields was introduced in all
calculations, in order to minimize errors involved in the quantification of these elements. Furthermore, the EDXRF Si/Ca ratio
of a treated sample divided by the same ratio of the untreated
material was defined as silicon yield (SY) at various depths from
the surface. The division of treated to untreated material was
necessary, since the studied limestones also contain a quantity
of silicon-based minerals, which should be considered in the
overall calculation of the silicon.
Fig. 2 illustrates the mean values of SYs obtained for different products and at different depths from the surface for the
AM1 and AM2 treated limestones. In Fig. 2 the amount of the
applied product is also reported. The SY at 30 mm from the surface corresponds to the opposite of the treated side and usually
shows values higher than 1, implying that a part of resin has
reached the untreated side. Limestones treated with PP (pipette)
and HP (brushing), as well as the AM2 limestones treated
with KS (capillarity) show a poorer penetration of the applied
products.
The obtained SYs of the treated samples were not always
proportional to the quantity of the applied resin. The lower
absorbed amounts of the applied products were recorded for
PP, LD and ES applied either by a pipette or brushing. Even
though LD and ES were applied by depositing the solution and
consequently the solvent, nevertheless, the product was accumulated on the surface, as indicated by the corresponding SYs.
The SYs identified in samples treated with PP show the lowest values at all depths, being proportional to the low quantity
of the absorbed product. It is important to emphasize that the
SYs identified on samples treated with PP at depths from the
surface of 0, 1, 10 and 30 mm show similar trends, indicating
that the resin has been evenly distributed in the whole matrix of
limestone.
Conversely, high absorbed product amounts were registered
for the samples treated with KS by capillary absorption, followed by comparable SYs at all depths from the surface. Samples
treated with KS, as well as KS + PP also show an even distribution of the product in depth; the obtained SYs were higher than
the corresponding of the samples treated with PP, as a result of
the higher absorbed amount. The AM2 limestones (with smaller
pores than AM1), absorbed less product and generally exhibited
lower SYs than AM1 limestones. Therefore, the resin quantity
which is spread deeply into the sample depends upon the resin
composition, the application mode and the microstructural characteristics of the limestone.
3.2.3. Evaluation of the mechanical characteristics of
treated limestones
The absorbed amount of the products on the treated samples
was compared with the ratio of the tensile strength obtained
between treated and untreated samples and the results are
illustrated in Fig. 3. There is some correlation between these
values, especially in cases treated with KS and PP in which
Fig. 4. Porosity (% 0.1), specific surface area (m2 /g) and average pore radius
(m) for treated and untreated samples.
the consumed product is proportional to the measured tensile strength. The values of the tensile strength corresponding to samples treated with PP are a bit lower or the same
with the untreated ones, indicating that the applied consolidant
has not induced an over-strengthening. This is an important
property of the elastic silicic acid ester, like the PP, which
does not modify the mechanical characteristics of the limestone. KS, however, produced over-strengthening, but this is
mostly related to the high consumed product by capillarity
absorption.
3.2.4. Mercury intrusion porosimetry
After treatment, the AM1 and AM2 limestones show a
decrease in porosity, specific surface area and average pore
radius (Fig. 4). The decrease of the average pore radius is
due to deposition of the consolidants into the pores. These
properties are desirable, since they contribute to a decrease of
the decay susceptibility of the limestones, provided that the
pore size distribution has not been modified to a great extent
[13]. As an example, the percent relative volume distribution
of the AM1 and AM2 treated with KS + PP and the corresponding untreated samples as a function of pore radius are
illustrated in Fig. 5. After treatment, the pore size distribution
shifts towards small radii without observing an occlusion of
pores.
145
Fig. 5. Percent relative volume as a function of pore radius (m) for the AM1
and AM2 samples treated with KS + PP and the corresponding untreated ones.
146
Fig. 6. FTIR spectra of an AM1 limestone treated with KS + PP at depths from the surface of 1 and 30 mm, as well as the untreated limestone.
Table 6
Comparison of the penetration depth of products evaluated with FTIR and EDXRF
Limestones
and products
CO3 2
SiOSi
EDXRF/FTIR
AM1
KS
KS
KS + PP
KS + PP
ES + HP
ES + HP
1
30
1
30
1
30
23.60
20.20
21.57
17.99
22.24
23.44
51.65
39.14
46.96
49.36
30.24
35.47
10.94
9.69
11.46
14.44
3.02
3.36
4.89
4.00
5.13
6.14
1.49
1.62
0.45
0.41
0.45
0.43
0.49
0.48
AM2
KS
KS
KS + PP
KS + PP
KS + HP
KS + HP
1
30
1
30
1
30
20.77
22.61
21.28
19.85
25.98
20.80
20.34
6.32
40.96
43.47
40.12
25.63
1.46
0.42
4.94
5.62
3.96
3.16
0.62
0.17
1.96
2.09
1.51
1.11
0.42
0.40
0.40
0.37
0.39
0.35
Fig. 7. Area analyzed by SEM, the corresponding SEM-EDS spectrum and the
semi-quantitative analysis of an AM1 sample treated with KS.
147
Fig. 7 illustrates the area analyzed by SEM, the corresponding SEM-EDS spectrum and the semi-quantitative analysis of
an AM1 sample treated with KS. The Si/Ca obtained SEMEDS intensities (equal to 0.081) are in close relationship with
the corresponding EDXRF Si/Ca X-rays yields (equal to 0.093)
indicating that EDXRF can be used for evaluating the penetration depth of the consolidants.
4. Conclusions
The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of Prof. A. Tsetsekou (Department of Mineral Resources
Engineering, Technical University of Crete) for the MIP measurements.
Acknowledgement
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148