Abstract
A strong attention is recently paid to surface properties of building materials as these allows controlling solar gains of the building envelope and overheating of buildings and urban areas. In this regard, deterioration phenomena due to biological aggression can quickly damage solar-reflecting roof surfaces and thus increase sharply solar gains, discomfort, air-conditioning costs and waterproofing degradation. The same deterioration problem has deleterious effect on cultural heritage, ruining its huge historic and artistic value. This work is aimed at providing an overview on the different organisms that affect the surface of most used building materials, to support the design of new building materials with long-lasting surface properties and to find a way to preserve cultural heritage. Artificial ageing is the long-term aim of this investigation, in which what in nature happens after months or years is compressed in a very short time by forcing the growth of microorganisms through a strict control on the different conditioning factors. Both natural and artificial ageing are eventually outlined in the last part of this work to provide a comprehensive idea of what is necessary to study in a complete way biological ageing protocols on building materials. Several characterization techniques are also introduced to analyse the influence of microorganisms on the surface of different building materials.
Highlights
1 INTRODUCTION Building surfaces are affected by deterioration due to several causes: weathering, soiling and deposition of atmospheric black carbon, dust, and organic and inorganic particulate matter, as well as microbiological growth [1]
Organisms that grow on building surfaces produce metabolic molecules such as acids and polysaccharides that contribute in the deterioration process [4]
Biological growth is influenced by both external conditions and intrinsic characteristics of building materials [4, 9, 10]
Summary
Building surfaces are affected by deterioration due to several causes: weathering, soiling and deposition of atmospheric black carbon, dust, and organic and inorganic particulate matter, as well as microbiological growth [1]. These phenomena induce physical, chemical and biological surface deterioration, which concerns buildings and cultural heritage. Non-biological weathering processes are increasing in last decades, especially in urban areas, owing to the higher incidence of environmental and anthropogenic pollution [3, 4] These deleterious effects on buildings and monuments are well documented [5, 6]. The chemical corrosion of structures is aggravated by the physical degradation induced by biofilm growth, which is able to compromise the durability of the materials [1, 16]
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