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Investigation on porosity changes of Lecce stone due to conservation treatments by means of x‐ray nano‐ and improved micro‐computed tomography: preliminary results
Author(s) -
Bugani Simone,
Camaiti Mara,
Morselli Luciano,
Van de Casteele Elke,
Janssens Koen
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.976
Subject(s) - porosity , materials science , tomography , computed tomography , mineralogy , high resolution , low resolution , composite material , geology , optics , physics , radiology , medicine , remote sensing
Abstract Cultural heritage materials are subject to continuous chemical and physical changes depending on the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium with the environment in which they are placed. In particular, different phenomena can take place, such as formation of black crusts, corrosion of the material, internal cracks. Lecce stone, a biocalcarenite mainly used for historical buildings in South Italy, has a high total porosity. In order to prevent its deterioration, different kinds of hydrophobic organic products are applied on the surface of the restored artefacts. Since the efficacy of the treatments depends mostly on the penetration depth and the distribution of the products in the pores, porosity and internal structure of the stone material were mainly investigated in this research. Micro x‐ray computed tomography (µ‐CT) has been used to study and characterize the internal structure of different samples, untreated and treated with protective products. The porosity and other parameters of the rock were then calculated and compared, before and after the conservation treatment, in order to highlight the changes due to the application of the product. On the other hand, small pieces of the untreated and treated samples were analysed by sub‐micron resolution x‐ray tomography where it was possible to see the distribution of the products inside the pores. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.