NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment
Abstract Salt weathering is one of the most important causes of deterioration in the built environment. Two crucial aspects need further investigation to understand the processes and find suitable measures: the impact of different climatic environments and the properties of salt mixture crystallizat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Heritage Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00514-3 |
| _version_ | 1818456374001008640 |
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| author | Sebastiaan Godts Scott Allan Orr Julie Desarnaud Michael Steiger Katrin Wilhelm Hilde De Clercq Veerle Cnudde Tim De Kock |
| author_facet | Sebastiaan Godts Scott Allan Orr Julie Desarnaud Michael Steiger Katrin Wilhelm Hilde De Clercq Veerle Cnudde Tim De Kock |
| author_sort | Sebastiaan Godts |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Salt weathering is one of the most important causes of deterioration in the built environment. Two crucial aspects need further investigation to understand the processes and find suitable measures: the impact of different climatic environments and the properties of salt mixture crystallization. We demonstrate the importance of kinetics in quantifying crystallization and dissolution cycles by combining droplet and capillary laboratory experiments with climate data analysis. The results proved that dissolution times for pure NaCl are typically slower than crystallization, while thermodynamic modelling showed a lower RHeq of NaCl (65.5%) in a salt mixture (commonly found in the built heritage) compared to its RHeq as a single salt (75.5%). Following the results, a minimum time of 30 min is considered for dissolution and the two main RHeq thresholds could be applied to climate data analysis. The predicted number of dissolution/crystallization cycles was significantly dependent on the measurement frequency (or equivalent averaging period) of the climatic data. An analysis of corresponding rural and urban climate demonstrated the impact of spatial phenomena (such as the urban heat island) on the predicted frequency cycles. The findings are fundamental to improve appropriate timescale windows that can be applied to climate data and to illustrate a methodology to quantify salt crystallization cycles in realistic environments as a risk assessment procedure. The results are the basis for future work to improve the accuracy of salt risk assessment by including the kinetics of salt mixtures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:25:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e799081e93dc4a43b0b2148e8bd5bb52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7445 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:25:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-e799081e93dc4a43b0b2148e8bd5bb522022-12-21T22:45:22ZengSpringerOpenHeritage Science2050-74452021-04-019111310.1186/s40494-021-00514-3NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessmentSebastiaan Godts0Scott Allan Orr1Julie Desarnaud2Michael Steiger3Katrin Wilhelm4Hilde De Clercq5Veerle Cnudde6Tim De Kock7Monuments Lab, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA)Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College LondonMonuments Lab, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA)Department of Chemistry, University of HamburgSchool of Geography and the Environment, University of OxfordMonuments Lab, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA)Department of Geology, PProGRess, Ghent UniversityAntwerp Cultural Heritage Sciences, ARCHES, University of AntwerpAbstract Salt weathering is one of the most important causes of deterioration in the built environment. Two crucial aspects need further investigation to understand the processes and find suitable measures: the impact of different climatic environments and the properties of salt mixture crystallization. We demonstrate the importance of kinetics in quantifying crystallization and dissolution cycles by combining droplet and capillary laboratory experiments with climate data analysis. The results proved that dissolution times for pure NaCl are typically slower than crystallization, while thermodynamic modelling showed a lower RHeq of NaCl (65.5%) in a salt mixture (commonly found in the built heritage) compared to its RHeq as a single salt (75.5%). Following the results, a minimum time of 30 min is considered for dissolution and the two main RHeq thresholds could be applied to climate data analysis. The predicted number of dissolution/crystallization cycles was significantly dependent on the measurement frequency (or equivalent averaging period) of the climatic data. An analysis of corresponding rural and urban climate demonstrated the impact of spatial phenomena (such as the urban heat island) on the predicted frequency cycles. The findings are fundamental to improve appropriate timescale windows that can be applied to climate data and to illustrate a methodology to quantify salt crystallization cycles in realistic environments as a risk assessment procedure. The results are the basis for future work to improve the accuracy of salt risk assessment by including the kinetics of salt mixtures.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00514-3Sodium chlorideSalt mixtureWeatheringCrystallizationPorous materialsDamage prediction |
| spellingShingle | Sebastiaan Godts Scott Allan Orr Julie Desarnaud Michael Steiger Katrin Wilhelm Hilde De Clercq Veerle Cnudde Tim De Kock NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment Heritage Science Sodium chloride Salt mixture Weathering Crystallization Porous materials Damage prediction |
| title | NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| title_full | NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| title_fullStr | NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| title_short | NaCl-related weathering of stone: the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| title_sort | nacl related weathering of stone the importance of kinetics and salt mixtures in environmental risk assessment |
| topic | Sodium chloride Salt mixture Weathering Crystallization Porous materials Damage prediction |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00514-3 |
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