Objective
Monuments built of marble or limestone belong to the cultural heritage of every participating country. In many cases, outstanding monuments are endangered by environmental pollution. There is an urgent need for suitable conservation products which can be applied efficiently on calcareous stones. The five participants in this project are co-operating in a joint research project which focuses on the testing of conservation products on selected limestones of national importance in Russia, Georgia and Ukraine.
The role of the westEuropean participants will be the scientific and technical co-ordination. All the research work will be performed in the NIS. The main physical properties to be determined are capillary water absorption, porosity, bulk and real density, water vapour adsorption and diffusion, strength (depth profiles), and frost resistance. Mechanical resistance will be investigated by using ultrasonic transmission and mechanical methods, such as pull-off strength and compressive strength. All measurements will be carried out according to international RILEM/UNESCO norms or national standards such as the German DIN, the Russian GOST and the French NF. There is an urgent need in the field of conservation science for the development of standards to estimate the success or failure of conservation treatments.
The conservation products will be applied on test areas on the NIS pilot monuments. The test areas at the pilot objects will be prepared with an area of approximately 1 m2, using one type of conservation product. The interaction of the chemical agents and the stone matrix will be studied, as well as the influence of the treatment on the basic physical stone properties. The treatment will be evaluated by non-destructive methods, such as ultrasonic velocity and colorimetric measurements before and after frost events. Based on the results of the laboratory and test area investigations, final joint recommendations on the use of the products for the needs of the stone and the specific object will be made.
The standards which are developed and accepted in west European countries, and which concern preliminary investigations of conservation measures, will be introduced in the NIS concerned. The results will be the development of adapted treatments (cleaning, consolidation, preservation) of different limestones of national importance in the NIS. Manuals of appropriate stone conservation and further requirements will be compiled. This particular aspect of the project is of major importance because it will contribute to a first step in setting up an international standard for the evaluation of conservation products.
There will be three group meetings where the work will be discussed and co-ordinated. The project will conclude with a final report compiled by all participants.
Call for proposal
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80333 München
Germany