Evaluation of three Italian tuffs (Neapolitan Yellow Tuf, Tufo Romano and Tufo Etrusco) as compatible replacement stone for Römer tuff in Dutch built cultural heritage

Rhenish tuffs from the volcanic Eifel region in Germany, in particular the so-called Römer tuff, are among the most prominent and voluminous natural stones in Dutch monuments. The Römer tuff has been used since Roman times, and was widely used again in Romanesque (and to a lesser extent Romano-Gothic and early Gothic) architecture. The limited ...

Microscopic examination of deteriorated concrete

Concrete petrography is the integrated microscopic and mesoscale (hand specimen size) investigation of hardened concrete, that can provide information on the composition of concrete, the original relationships between the concrete's various constituents, and any changes therein, whether as a result of ageing or damage processes. Concrete...

Shallow lacustrine carbonate microfacies document orbitally paced lake-level history in the Miocene Teruel Basin (North-East Spain)

Results are presented of a detailed carbonate petrographic study of an Upper Miocene lacustrine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic succession in the Teruel Basin (Spain) with the aim of constraining lake-level variability at different stratigraphic scales. Regular alternations of red to green mudstone and lacustrine limestone, termed the 'basic cycle...

The confluence area of Rhine, Meuse, and Belgian rivers: Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene fluvial history of the northern Lower Rhine Embayment

The fluvial history of the northern Lower Rhine Embayment shows interplay of three main river systems: Rhine, Meuse and smaller rivers draining the central and northern part of Belgium. The Pliocene and Early Pleistocene (pre-)Rhine and Meuse river systems had their conjunction in the southern part of the Roer Valley Graben between Aachen and...

Methods of testing alkali-silica reactivity in The Netherlands

In the current Dutch standard NEN 5905 and CUR Recommendation 38, four methods are listed for assessing the alkali-silica reactivity of concrete aggregates. However, procedures outlining how the tests should be performed, and the possible errors associated with such tests, are not given. This makes interpretation of results obtained by any of...

Assessment of fire-damaged concrete: Combining metamorphic petrology and concrete petrography

Metamorphic petrology is a branch of geology that deals with the study of changes in rocks due changing physio-chemical conditions. As conditions shift in or out of the thermodynamic stability field of phases, new phases may appear whereas others disappear. A basic approach is mapping of so-called isograds, which are lines separating the...

Unraveling the temperature distribution in fire-damaged concrete by means of PFM microscopy: Outline of the approach and review of potentially useful reactions

Concrete is a poor conductor of heat. Nevertheless, heating of concrete results in physico-chemical conditions shifting in or out the thermodynamic stability field of specific phases (minerals) in the concrete, effectuating their (dis)appearance. Metamorphic petrology is a branch of geology that deals with the study of such changes; as a basic...

Water extraction out of mortar during brick laying: A NMR study

The water extraction out of mortar during brick laying was studied using nuclear magnetic resonance. The experiments show that using a fired-clay brick, the water is extracted out of the mortar within 3 minutes, whereas in the case of a sand-lime brick this takes about 10 minutes. Prewetting a fired-clay brick hardly affects the water extraction...