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Sandstone grottoes, with their elaborate carvings and decorations, hold high historic, artistic and scientific values and therefore constitute an important part of China’s stone cultural heritage. Although capillary water accounts for severe pathologies at the grottoes, so far there have been limited comprehensive investigations concerned with the capillary water absorption behavior of sandstones. Aiming at three significant and famous sites in China, i.e., Yungang Grottoes (YG), Dazu Rock Carvings (DZ) and Leshan Grand Buddha (LS), capillary water absorption tests were performed on samples from local sandstones. During the test, evolution of cumulative inflow was measured and variation in the height of capillary rise over time was also monitored by combining visual observation and infrared thermography. Scanning electron microscope and mercury intrusion porosimetry were adopted to characterize the pore structure. The results indicate that all the tested sandstones had a medium capacity of water uptake. Kinetics for capillary water absorption was the highest for LS sandstone and the lowest for DZ sandstone. Differences in macroscopic properties were contributed to microstructural features such as average pore diameter and pore size distribution. An irregular shaped water front was only observed in LS sandstone due to its heterogeneity. Infrared thermography provides an efficient and nondestructive way to detect the transition zone between wet and dry portions of the sample, which was not visible to the naked eyes. A proper understanding of the interaction of the sandstones with capillary water is essential for revealing the deterioration of grottoes and the underlying mechanisms.

Experimental study on capillary water absorption of sandstones from different grotto heritage sites in China