Damage mechanism in Tournai limestone - The case of the tomb of Admiral Tromp in the Old Church of Delft (The Netherlands)

作者：Lubelli Barbara^*; Nijland Timo G

来源：Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2014, 15(3): 313-317.

DOI：10.1016/j.culher.2013.07.005

• Tournai limestone
• Hygric dilation
• Delamination
• Gypsum
• Salts
• SEM-EDS

The funeral monument of Maarten Tromp, in the Old Church of Delft (the Netherlands), is partially built with Tournai stone, a grey-blackish limestone from the Wallonia region (Belgium). This stone is suffering a severe delamination and scaling, which has, in the course of the centuries, led to a considerable material loss from the surface of some of the stone elements. In order to identify the damage process and define a sound basis for the conservation of the monument, a research plan was set-up including, next to the tests and analyses on the stone, a 1-year monitoring of the microclimate in the church and the investigation of the structure of the monument as well as its connections to the adjacent walls. First of all, the stone type was identified by macroscopic features and by thin section microscopy. The moisture distribution in the monument and in the adjacent walls was gravimetrically determined on samples taken at different height and depths. The content and type of salt in the Tournai stone from the monument were determined by X-ray diffraction and ion chromatography, and the results compared to those obtained for the fresh stone. The analyses showed the presence of considerable amount of gypsum, together with a low content of soluble salts (chlorides and nitrates). The SEM-EDS observations showed that gypsum is mainly crystallizing in cracks between the layers of the material. The damage mechanism and the influence of salt on the decay were further investigated by combining hygroscopic moisture uptake, hygric dilation( RH cycles between 50% and 95% RH) measurements and SEM-EDS observations; all measurements were performed both on stone sampled from the monument and, as comparison, on fresh stone specimens. The results show that gypsum is the main salt present, but its role in the damage is not significant. The naturally thin laminated structure of the stone together with the considerable hygric dilation seem to be the main causes of the delamination observed in this stone.

• 出版日期2014-6