Enhanced affordable methods for assessing material characteristics and consolidation effects on stone and mortar

Abstract

It is rather difficult to set up non-destructive or considerate in situ tests for assessing material characteristics and consolidation effects on historic stone and mortar. However, some simple methods have proved to be helpful when applied appropriately and this paper provides brief information about two such methods: peeling tests, also known as the 'Scotch tape' method, and surface water uptake measurements using a digitized microtube. Both methods have some history of development and use Mora and Torraca (1965 Bollettino Istituto Centrale del Restauro (Rome) pp 109–32), Giorgi et al (2000 Stud. Conserv. 45 154–61), Tiano et al (2006 J. Cult. Heritage 7 49–55), Lehmann (2004 Thesis, Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste, Dresden pp 33–34), Drdacký et al (2011 Proc. European Workshop on Cultural Heritage Preservation pp 126–30) and Zima (2011 Proc. 49th Int. Scientific Conf. on Experimental Stress Analysis pp 441–8) without any standardized support. This lack of a validated procedure can lead to some deficiencies and misinterpretations for applying the peeling test. Also, in the case of the digitized micro-tube, there can be some difficulties when the device is applied, which could prevent its wider adoption or even lead to rejection of the micro-tube technique. The paper summarizes basic principles for the application of both methods and reports illustrative results for laboratory and historic building investigations.