Abstract
The Villamayor Sandstone is an arkosic sandstone, the cementing material of which is principally composed of palygorskite, smectite and by small amounts of other clay minerals, and of oxides. This stone has been used as a building material since the Roman period in Salamanca (Spain). This city is located in the plains of Castilla at an altitude of 800 m, characterized by a continental semi-arid climate with a mean rainfall of 420 mm/year and 2679 sunshine hours per year on the average. A comparative study of fresh and weathered sandstones collected from different areas of the city shows, through X-ray diffraction, DTA, DTG, SEM and chemical analyses, the existence of two-well defined weathering types. The first occurs in well drained locations where humid conditions following rainfall do not last long. It is characterized by a small loss of the finest fractions, especially smectite, the breakage of palygorskite fibres covering the pores, and oxidation of the ferrous components that produces the characteristic golden colour. The second type, observed in zones with fairly constant humid conditions, is characterised by a high degree of surficial salt precipitation which provokes a high physical degradation as compared to the first type.
Published Version
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