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The Short-Term Effects Of Mortars On Salt Movement In Stone, Simon H. Perry, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Salt-induced decay processes are one of the most important reasons for the decay of many stone buildings and monuments. This paper investigates the role played by masonry mortars in the movement of salts within Baumberger sandstone and Portland limestone. The methodology used involved the monitoring of stone units containing mortar joints which were exposed to a city-centre environment. Rain-water run-off was collected from the stone/mortar units during the exposure period; the units were subsequently destructively analysed. The methods of run-off and destructive sample analysis used included ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrophotometry; stone and mortar samples were also analysed petrographically. …