Impacts of anisotropy coefficient and porosity on the thermal conductivity and P-wave velocity of calcarenites used as building materials of historical monuments in Morocco

• Published in: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 2023-07, Vol.15 (7), p.1687-1699
• Main Authors: Rahmouni, Abdelaali, Boulanouar, Abderrahim, El Rhaffari, Younes, Hraita, Mohammed, Zaroual, Aziz, Géraud, Yves, Sebbani, Jamal, Rezzouk, Abdellah, Nabawy, Bassem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy coefficient; Calcarenite; Moroccan historical monuments; P-wave velocity; Porosity; Sciences of the Universe; Thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 1674-7755; 2589-0417
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrmge.2023.02.008

It is essential to study the porosity, thermal conductivity, and P-wave velocity of calcarenites, as well asthe anisotropy coefficients of the thermal conductivity and P-wave velocity, for civil engineering, andconservation and restoration of historical monuments. This study focuses on measuring the thermalconductivity using the thermal conductivity scanning (TCS) technique and measuring the P-wave ve-locity using portable equipment. This was applied for some dry and saturated calcarenite samples in thehorizontal and vertical directions (parallel and perpendicular to the bedding plane, respectively). Thecalcarenites were selected from some historical monuments in Morocco. These physical properties weremeasured in the laboratory to find a reliable relationship between all of these properties. As a result ofthe statistical analysis of the obtained data, excellent linear relationships were observed between theporosity and both the thermal conductivity and porosity. These relationships are characterized byrelatively high coefficients of determination for the horizontal and vertical samples. Based on thethermal conductivity and P-wave velocity values in these two directions, the anisotropy coefficients ofthese two properties were calculated. The internal structure and the pore fabric of the calcarenitesamples were delineated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while their chemical and mineralcompositions were studied using the energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)techniques.