Environmental Factor Accelerate the Deterioration of Tuff Stone Heritage: A Case Study of a Stone House in Southeast China

Yang Wu,Bingjian Zhang,Jianchao Zhang,Jian Shen

doi:10.3390/buildings12020188

Abstract

Water plays an important role in the deterioration of rocks. Often, the condensation cannot be ignored in addition to the rain and seepage, especially for stone relics built with tuff in humid areas. As part of this study, a century-old stone house in southeastern China was investigated alongside the microclimate, including temperature, humidity, and rainfall in the study area. Results showed that the main types of deterioration in this house were detachment, with some areas exhibiting surface hardness decreased by more than 50%. This decay was caused in part by condensation on the inner walls of the stone house during the rainy season. According to statistics, more than two-thirds of the time the rainy season produces condensate on the inner wall, which is primarily found on the north side of the house because there is less solar radiation. Conversely, the stress caused by severe temperature differences on the south side contributes more to the deterioration of rock. Environmental conditions with high humidity and strong temperature differences will accelerate the deterioration process of tuff stone with high porosity. Consequently, it is recommended that stones built by tuff in such a humid environment take rainproof measures and maintain good air circulation to reduce the adverse effects of condensation.

Highlights

Stone relics are an important cultural heritage component that must be preserved for future generations
Density and surface strength the rockto water as the water haspore doubled before.and. It canto be decreased, while theabsorption porosity and size than increased, it became more sensitive observed that the surface of the rock sample is gray green, with a tuffaceous texture and water as the water absorption has doubled than before
Whole rockrock is mainly of crystal, debris, and volcanic observed that theThe surface of the samplecomposed is gray green, with lithic a tuffaceous texture and dust.structure

Summary

Introduction

Stone relics are an important cultural heritage component that must be preserved for future generations Due to their direct exposure to the natural environment, they are affected by solar radiation, water, wind, and other climate factors [1,2]. Water causes the bio-deterioration of rocks because water provides suitable conditions for the growth of plants, fungal, bacterial, lichen, or insect colonies. Their roots cause physical damage to the rock, and the acids produced by their metabolism cause chemical damage at the same time [14,15].These destructive effects will change the rock’s surface morphology, and change its physical and mechanical properties. For the moisture content in the stone relics, electrical methods, infrared thermography, portable nuclear magnetic resonance, as well as radar and microwave moisture measurements are commonly used [16,17,18,19]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion