3-D characterization of weathered building limestones by high resolution synchrotron X-ray microtomography

Olivier Rozenbaum (1)

1 ISTO - Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans

Understanding the weathering processes of building stones and more generally of their transfer properties requires detailed knowledge of the porosity characteristics. This study aims at analyzing three-dimensional images obtained by X-ray microtomography of building stones. In order to validate these new results a weathered limestone previously characterised (Rozenbaum et al., 2007) by two-dimensional image analysis was selected. The 3-D images were analysed by a set of mathematical tools that enable the description of the pore and solid phase distribution. Results show that 3-D image analysis is a powerful technique to characterise the morphological, structural and topological differences due to weathering. The paper also discusses criteria for mathematically determining whether a stone is weathered or not.

Keywords: Stone weathering; 3-D image analysis; X-ray microtomography; Porous media; Segmentation; Topology

Domains: Continental interfaces, environment; Global Changes

Olivier Rozenbaum. 3-D characterization of weathered building limestones by high resolution synchrotron X-ray microtomography. Science of the Total Environment, 2011, 409, pp.1959-1966. ⟨10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.02.014⟩. ⟨insu-00582895⟩