Nondestructive Testing Evaluation of Drying Process in Flooded Full-Scale Masonry Walls
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 24, Issue 5
Abstract
After an investigation on the most recent floods occurred in Italy that damaged the Cultural Heritage masonry buildings, an experimental research started on-site on full-scale masonry models exposed to the environmental agents in Milan. The masonry materials used for the full-scale models were largely investigated in the past and the models were subjected to decay caused by the capillary rise and by the crystallization of sodium sulfate coming from the foundations. These walls can actually simulate the state of naturally contaminated walls before a flood and represent a construction where the main parameters are known. A flood has been simulated by adding water for several days to the walls of the full-scale models previously contaminated by salts, then the walls were left to naturally dry. The objective is to check the effectiveness of nondestructive (ND) techniques in detecting the presence of water and the drying process and also the influence of surface treatments presence. Radar tests, thermography tests, sonic tests, as well as the minor destructive powder drilling tests were applied successfully to evaluate the moisture distribution in the masonry after flooding and during natural drying.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers wish to thank arch. L. Cantini, R. De Ponti, C. Tiraboschi, and Eng. S. Munda for their work and data elaboration, the students S. Perego and E. Maggi and the technicians M. Antico and M. Cucchi. The writers are also grateful to IDS S.p.A. for supporting the investigations by supplying the high-frequency antenna for GPR investigations. The research was supported by the EC project CHEF (2007–2010).
References
ASTM. (1983). “Standard test method for pulse velocity through concrete.” C597-83, West Conshohocken, Pa.
ASTM. (2003a). “Standard practice for thermographic inspection of insulation installations in envelope cavities of frame buildings.” C1060-90, West Conshohocken, Pa.
ASTM. (2003b). “Detecting delaminations in bridge decks using infrared thermography.” D4788-03, West Conshohocken, Pa.
Binda, L., and Baronio, G. (1987). “Mechanisms of masonry decay due to salt crystallization.” J. Durabil. Build. Mater., 4(4), 227–240.
Binda, L., Charola, A. E., and Baronio, G. (1985). “Deterioration of porous materials due to salt crystallization under different thermohygrometric conditions.” 5th Int. Conf. on Deterioration and Conservation of Stone, I. Bricks, ed., Press Polytechniques, Lausanne, Switzerland, 279–288.
Binda, L., Rocca, P., and Squarcina, T. (1996). “Deterioration of masonry surfaces and of surface treatments: Experimental result on full scale models.” Masonry Soc. J., 14(2), 25–36.
Cardani, G., Tedeschi, C., Binda, L., and Baronio, G. (2001). “Interaction of water based water repellent (WBW) treatment with , and NaCl.” Salt compatibility of surface treatments (CD-ROM), Contract No. EV-CT98-0710, E. De Witte, ed., European Commission, Brussels, Belgium, 120–141.
Drdácký, M., Binda, L., Herle, I., Lanza, L. G., Maxwell, I., and Pospìšil, S. (2008). “Protecting the cultural heritage from natural disasters—Study.” Policy Dept. Structural and Cohesion Policies, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium.
Larsen, E. S., and Nielsen, C. B. (1990). “Decay of bricks due to salt.” Mater. Struct., 23, 16–25.
Lewin, S. Z. (1981). “The mechanism of masonry decay through crystallization.” Conservation of historic stone buildings and monuments, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Maierhofer, C., Wostmann, J., Trela, C., and Rollig, M. (2008). “Investigation of moisture content and distribution with radar and active thermography.” Proc., Int. RILEM Conf. SACoMaTiS 2008, Varenna, Italy, 411–420.
Mamillan M. (1981). “Alteration et Durabilité des Pierres.” Seminaire Alteration et Durabilité des Bétons ed des Pierres, St. Remy-Les-Chevreuse, France.
Newman, A. J. (1993). “Improvement of the drilling method for the determination in building materials.” RILEM Recommendation MS93/15, RILEM, Cachon Cedex, France.
RILEM. (1997). “MS.D.1. Measurement of mechanical pulse velocity for masonry.” RILEM Recommendation TC127-MS, RILEM, Cachon Cedex, France.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 24 • Issue 5 • October 2010
Pages: 473 - 483
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 23, 2009
Accepted: Apr 11, 2010
Published online: Apr 30, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.