Salt weathering of sandstone during drying : effect of primary and secondary crystallisation

ACTInternational audienc

Recommendation of RILEM TC 271-ASC: New accelerated test procedure for the assessment of resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization

This recommendation is devoted to testing the resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization. The procedure was developed by the RILEM TC 271-ASC to evaluate the durability of porous building materials against salt crystallization through a laboratory method that allows for accelerated testing without compromising the reliability of the results. The new procedure is designed to replicate salt damage caused by crystallization near the surface of materials as a result of capillary transport and evaporation. A new approach is proposed that considers the presence of two stages in the salt crystallization test. In the first, the accumulation stage, salts gradually accumulate on or near the surface of the material due to evaporation. In the second, the propagation stage, damage initiates and develops due to changes in moisture content and relative humidity that trigger salt dissolution and crystallization cycles. To achieve this, two types of salt were tested, namely sodium chloride and sodium sulphate, with each salt tested separately. A methodology for assessing the salt-induced damage is proposed, which includes visual and photographical observations and measurement of material loss. The procedure has been preliminarily validated in round robin tests

Inhibition by anandamide of gap junctions and intercellular calcium signalling in striatal astrocytes

Anandamide, an endogenous arachidonic acid derivative that is released from neurons and activates cannabinoid receptors, may act as a transcellular cannabimimetic messenger in the central nervous system. The biological actions of anandamide and the identity of its target cells are, however, still poorly documented. Here we show that anandamide is a potent inhibitor of gap-junction conductance and dye permeability in striatal astrocytes. This inhibitory effect is specific for anandamide as compared to co-released congeners or structural analogues, is sensitive to pertussis toxin and to protein-alkylating agents, and is neither mimicked by cannabinoid-receptor agonists nor prevented by a cannabinoid-receptor antagonist. Glutamate released from neurons evokes calcium waves in astrocytes that propagate via gap junctions, and may, in turn, activate neurons distant from their initiation sites in astrocytes. We find that anandamide blocks the propagation of astrocyte calcium waves generated by either mechanical stimulation or local glutamate application. Thus, by regulating gap-junction permeability, anandamide may control intercellular communication in astrocytes and therefore neuron-glial interactions

Recommendation of RILEM TC 271-ASC: New accelerated test procedure for the assessment of resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization

This recommendation is devoted to testing the resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization. The procedure was developed by the RILEM TC 271-ASC to evaluate the durability of porous building materials against salt crystallization through a laboratory method that allows for accelerated testing without compromising the reliability of the results. The new procedure is designed to replicate salt damage caused by crystallization near the surface of materials as a result of capillary transport and evaporation. A new approach is proposed that considers the presence of two stages in the salt crystallization test. In the first, the accumulation stage, salts gradually accumulate on or near the surface of the material due to evaporation. In the second, the propagation stage, damage initiates and develops due to changes in moisture content and relative humidity that trigger salt dissolution and crystallization cycles. To achieve this, two types of salt were tested, namely sodium chloride and sodium sulphate, with each salt tested separately. A methodology for assessing the salt-induced damage is proposed, which includes visual and photographical observations and measurement of material loss. The procedure has been preliminarily validated in round robin tests

Salt crystal purification by deliquescence/crystallization cycling

In this paper we show how by repetitive humidity cycling high-quality single crystals of salt (NaCl) can be obtained. The drying of droplets of saturated salt solution, leads to many individual microcrystallites that grow close to the contact line due to the “coffee stain effect”. Subsequent humidity cycling leads to the growth of a smaller number of crystals by expulsing impurities. This allows us to obtain only one single crystal instead of several dozens of crystallites in as little as three cycles. The reduction in the number of cycles needed to obtain a single crystal can even be improved by the combination of two effects; firstly the deliquescence/recrystallisation cycling and secondly by controlling the wetting properties of the substrate with grafted monolayer treatments

Impact of the kinetics of salt crystallization on stone damage during rewetting/drying and humidity cycling

International audienceIn this study, we show that the key to understand why the same salt can cause damage in some conditions and not in others is the kinetics of crystallization. We present experiments assessing the impact of the recrystallization dynamics of sodium sulfate on damage observed in sandstone after repeated cycles of rewetting/drying and humidification/drying. Macroscopic and microscopic scale experiments using magnetic resonance imaging and phase contrast microscopy demonstrate that sodium sulfate that has both hydrated and anhydrous phases can lead to severe damage in sandstone during rewetting/drying cycles, but not during humidity cycling. During rewetting (a rapid process) in regions (pores) that are highly concentrated in salt, anhydrous microcrystals dissolve only partially, giving rise to a heterogeneous salt solution that is supersaturated with respect to the hydrated phase. The remaining anhydrous crystals then act as seeds for the formation of large amounts of hydrated crystals, creating grape-like structures that expand rapidly. These clusters can generate stresses larger than the tensile strength of the stone, leading to damage. On the other hand, with humidification (a slow process) and after complete deliquescence of salt crystals, the homogeneous sodium sulfate solution can reach high concentrations during evaporation without any nucleation, favoring the formation of isolated anhydrous crystals (thenardite). The crystallization of the anhydrous salt generates only very small stresses compared to the hydrated clusters and therefore causes hardly any damage to the stone. © 2013 American Society of Mechanical Engineers