Assessing material compatibility for restoration: An innovative approach to compare hydraulic properties of repair and historic mortars |
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| Salvatore Menta, Antonio Stroscio, Gaetano Ortolano, Roberto Visalli, Cristina Maria Belfiore |
- Abstract:
- This study compares the hydraulic properties of historic and experimentally reproduced mortars to assess their compatibility and performance in restoration contexts. Mortar replicas have been prepared by using traditional recipes from Catania (Sicily, Italy), where ghiara, a red volcanic aggregate from altered paleo-soils by Mt. Etna, is commonly used. Two formulations with different aggregate grain sizes (with and without the <0.063 mm fraction) were tested to assess hydraulic behavior. These were compared with mortars sampled from a historic masonry wall in Catania, which showed variability in color and aggregate grain size. Hydraulic phases were identified using Q-XRMA software, which applied PCA and supervised classification to SEM-EDS maps. Additionally, the GIS-based MFA tool characterized aggregate features in historical samples. Experimental mortars showed enhanced hydraulicity (~90% binder as moderately hydraulic lime to cement), while those from the historic masonry displayed more variable pozzolanic properties, likely due to past restorations.
- Download:
- IMEKO-Metroarchaeo-2025-067.pdf
- DOI:
- 10.21014/tc26-2025.067
- Event details
- IMEKO TC:
- TC26
- Event name:
- TC26 MetroArcheo Conference 2025
- Title:
Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
- Place:
- Bergamo, ITALY
- Time:
- 15 October 2025 - 17 October 2025