Marble decay caused by thermal expansion: microstructure-based mathematical and physical modeling

TL;DRAbstract

Marbles have been considered to be among the most important building materials since ancient times. Regarded as special stones, they are captivating because of their pureness, formability, and translucence. However, degradation of sculptures, architectural heritage, and façade stone made from marbles is problematic. Such deterioration of building stones depends mainly on ambient climate. Environmental conditions such as temperature changes, both increases and decreases, induce significant deterioration. The rock-forming minerals in marble, like calcite and dolomite, have large anisotropy in their coefficients of thermal expansion. Hence, apart from the expansion (or contraction) that results from heating (or cooling), internal residual stresses will develop in the stone fabric due to the thermal expansion anisotropy between the constitutive crystalline grains. These stresses can result in thermally induced microcracking, and an additional concomitant expansion. Such behavior is exacerb

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