Artificial porous stone from of ornamental rock waste adaptable for civil con- struction and heritage restoration

Abstract

The technique of volumetric reintegration in severely deteriorated stone materials is of major importance for the restoration of architectural heritage. In using mortars for restoration it is important to control aspects such as the colour and textural similarity in relation to the adjacent stone, minor or equal strength and equal or greater porosity/permeability with respect to the original stone. This latter aspect is of particular complexity because the percentage distribution of pore-size ranges should not differ from that of the original stone material. The invention patent (with numbers of publication ES2187245 A1 and B1 16. 06. 2004), owned by the University of Granada, allows the production of excellent porous stones for decorative work in construction and mortar for restoration of stone materials with controlled porosity. Both materials consist of ornamental rock waste, so that a particular recycling purpose is given to this type of material which is difficult to reuse. In this paper we present the manufacturing process of these artificial stones and porous mortars with decorative and restorative purposes, from the controlled mixture of aggregates of ornamental rocks, organic and inorganic binders and generators of porosity. Once the curing and hardening has been done it is worth noting that one of the most important aspects of the product is the generation of a complex connected porous system as a result of the incorporation of crushed expanded polystyrene, which is activated after hardening through the application of organic solvents.

Empirical Study on Weather Resistance of White Artificial Stones in Subtropical Island Climate

“…Natural stone materials tend to exhibit qualitative changes under changing environmental conditions [4][5][6]. Natural stone materials can be combined with other materials to meet the requirements of certain applications while maintaining the beauty that is usually attributed to natural stone materials [7]. Materials and products produced in such a combination are often referred to as artificial stones [4].…”

“…Artificial stones are advantageous because they exhibit consistent performance [1,4,7], but there have been very few studies of this in the literature [4]. Artificial stone has extremely low porosity, exhibits remarkable performance in construction applications, possesses consistent color and strength, and even has a maintenance-free surface (artificial stone does not require coating materials).…”