Crystallization Pressure and Salt Distribution in Tuffeau Limestone

Abstract

Presence of soluble salts in the building limestone’s which can originate from different pathways (marine environments, dissolution of the calcite of the stone due to water transfer,... etc) gradually induces textural and mineralogical modifications in the stones. These salts are one of the key contributors towards degradation of monuments due to weathering action (Fig. 1). In this paper, weathering test are carried out on white Tuffeau limestone with high total porosity of 48%. This limestone, extracted from the Lucet quarry in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg in Maine-et-Loire, France, is largely used in constructions of the castles of Val de Loire.