Salt Research: Mechanisms of Salt Decay and Methods of Mitigation

Improved understanding of stone deterioration due to the action of water and salts and effective procedures for mitigation and conservation

Project Details

Circular glass dishes with materials inside

Different poultice materials for desalination compresses

About

Goal

Damage to porous materials from the interaction of moisture and salts is a widespread and complex problem in the conservation of mural paintings and stone. The Salt Research project sought to improve scientific understanding of the way stone deteriorates due to the action of water and salts and to develop effective mitigation and conservation procedures.

Outcomes

  • An advanced course and workshop, "SALTeXPERT," held in November 2002 in Prague. Attended by over 30 participants from 17 countries, the meeting was jointly organized with the Czech Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, as part of the Advanced Research Centre for Cultural Heritage Interdisciplinary Projects.
  • A specialized international conference on the topic of salts and porous building materials, Salt Weathering in Buildings and Stone Sculptures (SWBSS), was held in 2007, 2008 and 2011, along with an ongoing experts workshop, Crystallization in Porous Media (CrysPOM)
  • Educational tools including visual materials depicting time-lapse salt crystallization and dissolution that have enhanced collaboration between conservators and researchers in the field of salt damage

Background

The challenge presented by the damaging effects of salts to conservation of mural paintings and stone also increases the corrosion rates of outdoor bronze and other metal objects. Consolidation treatments and other conservation interventions, such as rendering and artificial stone, often fail in the presence of high salt loads.

The formation, transport, and crystallization of salts in pores is widely recognized as one of the primary causes of the deterioration of historical architecture, of structures in archaeological sites, and of archaeological objects. A better understanding of these mechanisms and an exploration of options to deal with the problem of salts and moisture holds great significance for the conservation of material cultural heritage.

Project History

Partners

TNO Bouw (The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research: Building and Construction Research); Study and Conservation of Construction Materials in Architectural Heritage Group, University of Granada, Spain; Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Physics, The Netherlands; University of Bologna, Department of Physics, Italy; European Union COMPASS project; European Union DESALINATION project; Fulvio Zezza, coordinator, University of Venice