Abstract
Lightning strikes are prevalent and inevitable natural phenomena that might cause damages during interaction with building structures and, in some cases, culminate in fires. During the last decades, several lightning strikes have caused considerable damages to cultural and heritage buildings. Furthermore, recent studies indicated a plausible connection between climate changes due to global warming and variations in the frequency and intensity of lightning. The evaluation of the structural efficiency and resilience of cultural buildings to global changes and natural risks appears significant in the light of the current scientific debate. This research aims at the assessment of lightning strikes’ effects on ancient heritage binding materials through the characterization of their thermal and electrical conductivity properties. This study focused on the performance evaluation of green and low-cost mortars based on the use of organic additives. Lime samples were reverse engineered by using a mixture of organics (fig, jaggery, black grape, banana, kadukai), which comprises the most common additives used in traditional Indian mortars. The reliability of the organic mixture in enhancing the resilience of masonry to lightning strikes was analyzed by using electromagnetic field simulation.
Highlights
Heritage monuments and buildings are structures possessing architectural splendor, aesthetics, elegance, historic significance, and cultural values [1]
The addition of organic water to lime generally increases the solubility of calcium oxide in water by 84% [41], which results in higher conversion rate of calcium hydroxide; the fermentation of organics results in the formation of alcohol and carbon-dioxide [42]
The most relevant findings of this investigation are summarized as follows: 1. The laboratory testing on reverse-engineered mixes demonstrated that the electrical conductivity in organic mortars is less than conventional concrete materials and slightly higher than reference mixes; organic mortars exhibited higher strength and ensured good thermal insulation, improving the building thermal efficiency
Summary
Heritage monuments and buildings are structures possessing architectural splendor, aesthetics, elegance, historic significance, and cultural values [1]. The protection of cultural buildings from natural and environmental risks represents a big challenge; adverse weather and climate, pollution, and uncontrolled urbanization are only few of the risks to which cultural buildings are exposed [2]. Natural disasters, such as lightning strikes, floods, earthquakes, fires, environmental fatigues or similar long-term climate effects can cause irreversible damage to cultural heritage or destroy entire areas of cultural value, involving both movable and immovable art objects [3].
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