Contact sponge method: Performance of a promising tool for measuring the initial water absorption

• Published in: Journal of cultural heritage 2009, Vol.10 (1), p.41-47
• Main Authors: Vandevoorde, Delphine, Pamplona, Marisa, Schalm, Olivier, Vanhellemont, Yves, Cnudde, Veerle, Verhaeven, Eddy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capillary; Contact sponge; Karsten pipe; Porous stone materials; Water absorption
• ISSN: 1296-2074; 1778-3674
• DOI: 10.1016/j.culher.2008.10.002

Porous limestone and mortar are able to absorb large quantities of water. This phenomenon will accelerate the deterioration of the material. In such cases, the material might be treated with a hydrophobic product, which creates a superficial layer that hampers the penetration of water. In order to decide if such a treatment should be applied or not, the water absorbing behaviour of the material should be measured. With the same measuring technique the efficiency of the hydrophobic barrier can be evaluated. Moreover, it allows the monitoring of such barriers as a function of time. At the same time, the water absorption of porous stone material is an indication of the degree of deterioration and its sensitivity to future deterioration. Up to now, two different measuring techniques exist, but one can only be used in laboratory and the other, which can be operated in laboratory as well as in situ, is not always reliable for in situ analyses. This article proposes an alternative method: the contact sponge method. This recently developed method was tested on non-treated porous stone materials in a laboratory environment in order to evaluate its performance in comparison with the two existing methods.