Abstract
Most of the historical and old building stock in Europe are constructed from masonry, when brick, stones, or their combination are bound with traditional mortars. Rising damp, due to accompanying effects, is the main factor influencing the quality of indoor climate as well as having an important impact on the durability of masonry structures. In this study, new types of lightweight concrete with waste aggregate content as a suitable material for remediation of damp damaged masonries were designed and tested. Alternative aggregate served as silica sand substitution in the range of 0–100 vol.%. Basic structural properties, mechanical resistance, water, and water vapor transport properties were measured after 28 days of water curing and were compared with dense reference concrete and with traditional masonry materials as well. Moreover, the porous structure of produced concretes and changes caused by usage of alternative aggregate usage were evaluated with the mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) technique. Obtained experimental data showed the suitability of modified concretes with 25–50 vol.% of waste aggregate content to ensure acceptable strength and hydric properties, and these properties were found to be comparable with masonry structures and materials used in the past.
Highlights
Most of the building stock in Europe was being built during the 20th century as a consequence of recovery efforts after the Second World War [1]
The graph expressing the dependence of cumulative pore volume on pore diameter (Figure 6) is divided into several intervals in shades of gray sorting pores according to their size, from gel pores
The graph expressing the dependence of cumulative pore volume on pore diameter (Figure 6) is divided into several intervals in shades of gray sorting pores according to their size, from gel pores up to entrained air, as was reported in [57]
Summary
Most of the building stock in Europe was being built during the 20th century as a consequence of recovery efforts after the Second World War [1]. Many historical monuments and old masonry-based family and/or apartment buildings suffer from insufficient maintenance and rehabilitation and tend to undergo several decay processes that may lead to disruptions like sloughing elements, blistering, and flanking presence [1,2] These aspects have clear causation with dampness coming from various sources, like wind-oriented rainfalls, condensation, capillary rise from the subsoil, etc. This study focuses on the rising damp that constitutes a still-discussed phenomenon causing the deterioration of indoor and outdoor appearances of historical as well as modern buildings built using traditional porous materials This effect is closely connected with the presence and condition of horizontal water-proof insulations that can be absent or damaged [4]. It was concluded that the optimized amount of LA ranged in the interval of 25–50 vol.%, when sufficient mechanical strength and improved hygric properties, comparable with traditional masonry materials (brick, sandstone, etc.), were ensured
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