Evaluation of the efficiency of consolidants on Hungarian porous limestone by non-destructive test methods

Abstract Three types of porous limestone from Sóskút quarry and two limestone types obtained directly from Matthias Church of Budapest (both in Hungary) were used to test the performance of five stone consolidants. The quarry specimens were treated under laboratory conditions by saturation. Three types of silicic acid ester, an aliphatic uretan resin and a polymethyl methacrylate were applied to the stone. Physical parameters such as density, porosity, ultrasonic sound velocity and Duroscope rebound value were measured on untreated and treated samples. The absorption rate of different consolidants was also detected. The physical properties of untreated and treated specimens were compared in order to analyze the performance of the consolidants. Duroscope tests have shown that after consolidation there is an increase in surface strength

Effect of Thermal and Freeze-thaw Stress on the Mechanical Properties of Porous Limestone

This paper focuses on the effect of high temperature on the mechanical properties of a porous limestone that is widely used as dimension stone in Hungary. The changes in physical properties of 3 types of porous limestone were analyzed at 22 °C, 300 °C and 600 °C, respectively. The limestone specimens were also subjected to freeze-thaw cycles to assess the other extrinsic factor that influences the behavior. Parameters such as material density, bulk density, ultrasonic pulse velocity and tensile strength were measured and compared in different test conditions. The tests results indicate that fabric differences significantly influences the durability of tested limestones. Bioclastic grainstone is more frost resistant that ooidal grainstone or bioclastic packstone, but heating seems to reduce the pulse velocity and tensile strength of all tested limestone. It is suggested that cyclic freezing-thawing reduces the strength depending on the micro-fabric, while heating to 600 °C and the reduction of strength is less controlled by the fabric of the porous limestone

Freeze–Thaw and Salt Crystallization Durability of Silica Acid Ester Consolidated Porous Limestone from Hungary

The durability of consolidated highly porous limestones was tested after salt and freeze–thaw cycles. Three porous limestone lithotypes that were commonly used in construction in the Central-European region during previous centuries were selected for the tests. Specimens of Miocene limestone were consolidated with four different types of ethyl silica-based consolidants (KSE 100, KSE 300, KSE 300 E, KSE 300 HV). After consolidation, the samples were exposed to freeze thaw cycles and salt crystallization tests. Water saturation under atmospherically pressure, capillary water absorption and splitting tensile strength were measured on treated and untreated samples to assess change attributed to consolidation in the open porosity and mechanical parameters. The increase in the tensile strength of the medium-grained samples was higher than that of the consolidated fine-grained lithotypes. The effect of consolidation treatment was very different in terms of pore-size distribution as obtained by Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Untreated and consolidated samples were subjected to 10 cycles of sodium sulphate crystallization (EN 12370) and 10 freeze–thaw cycles (EN 12371) tests. Experiments concluded that in addition to the initial strength increase after the conservation, the modified pore structure is the crucial factor to evaluate the long-term efficiency of stone conservation

Comparative evaluation of the effect of cyclodextrins and pH on aqueous solubility of apigenin

Abstract The aqueous solubility of a flavonoid, apigenin, was studied in the presence of first generation cyclodextrins (α-CyD, β-CyD, γ-CyD), ionic and nonionic synthetic derivatives of β-CyD, namely SBE-β-CyD, HP-β-CyD and RM-β-CyD at various physiological pH. The order of solubility enhancement was as follows: RM-β-CyD > SBE-β-CyD > γ-CyD > HP-β-CyD > β-CyD > α-CyD. The phase solubility diagrams of HP-β-CyD and SBE-β-CyD indicated Higuchi AL subtype behavior, suggesting 1:1 stoichiometry of the complex. In contrast, AP subtype, so higher order complex formation can be assumed in the case of RM-β-CyD and γ-CyD. The formation of inclusion complexes has been confirmed by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic measurements. Increased antioxidant activity was observed due to the inclusion complexes. These results prove that synthetic derivatives of β-CyD will be potentially useful excipients in the development of drug delivery systems for healthcare products containing flavonoids

The Effects of Different Management Methods on Restored Grasslands in Potential Temperate Forest Zones

The European temperate forest zone has great importance, in terms of maintaining the habitats of not only forests but also anthropogenous grasslands, which were formed as a result of habitat reconstruction. These habitats have great importance, by means of nature conservation, landscape use, economy, and forest and grassland use. The mosaic-like habitat complexes that consist of these grasslands and forest patches help to increase biodiversity and supply the habitat for forest game. In this survey, changes in the vegetation of the temperate forests (Fagetum) of the Mátra Mountains of Hungary were investigated after reconstruction. In 2012, shrub cutting was carried out in the area of Parádóhuta, and then three different management methods (abandoning, mowing, and grazing) were utilized. Our goals were the following: to perform a vegetation survey of the sample areas (i); surveying the natural regeneration of the grassland and analyzing its biodiversity, nature conservation, and economical value (ii); and analyzing the vegetation in terms of nature conservation and valuing its life form spectrum, economy values, and livestock-feeding ability (iii). According to our results, systematic mowing and a less-intensive grazing had a significantly positive effect on biodiversity and the coverage of species, thus increasing the naturalness of the studied grassland habitats, while wild game were able to act as ecological engineers