Deterioration Patterns

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<bibimport /> Author: Hans-Jürgen Schwarz
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Introduction[edit]

To assess new damage, well documented and analysed decay pattern are of great importance. This collection provides an overview of decay pattern, which have been observed in the different material groups.

Material based collections of decay pattern are available for:

Glossary of salt Efflorescences[edit]

In general efflorescences are whitish, powdery or whisker-like crystals on the surface, generally poorly cohesive and commonly made of soluble salt crystals.

On the objects, especially wall paintings, mortar, plaster, ceramic and natural stone, efflorescences repeatedly show certain typical forms, which will here be briefly characterized.

Whiskers are long, thin, sometimes curved crystals, here NaCl whiskers (from [Arnold.etal:1991]Title: Monitoring Wall Paintings Affected by soluble Salts
Author: Arnold, Andreas; Zehnder, Konrad
Link to Google Scholar
)

Whisker (=Haarkristalle): a few microns thick to cm - long, columnar, often curved crystals. Under special conditions crystals, in which a needle-like habit is usually not typical, growing in fine hair-like individuals, the so-called whiskers. Whiskers have been observed in a variety of substances, metals, salts and other compounds. Their diameters are between 0.01 and 100 micron, while their length can reach the order of centimeters. They grow preferentially in the longitudinal direction, while the cultivation of substance on the side faces is either totally suppressed or, to some extent still happen later. There are whiskers that include along their axis, a single (or few) screw dislocation, which causes a spiral growth at the tip, the material along the side of the tip must be transported. There are also whiskers without screw dislocations, which is the preferred growth at the top by a different mechanism about. Finally, there are whiskers do not grow at the top, but at its base, a pushing up the growing crystal.


efflorescence made of KNO3, the crystals are whiskers


Salzflaum: very loose, wool or cotton-like efflorescence, usually consisting of bent whiskers.


salt crystals on a joint; the individual crystals are whiskers

Salzrasen: loose, acicular to columnar whiskers, more or less perpendicular to the surface, 0.1 to several millimeters large, often only visible in raking light.


File:EilsumPudrige Ausbuehungen.jpg
powdery efflorescences of sodium sulfate

Pulverige Salzausblühungen: white, mealy, loose to dense or fluffy coat. Powdery efflorescences depend on the salt type. Some salts, especially the somewhat less soluble, such as gypsum, can bloom from the beginning in this very fine crystalline form. When sodium sulfate, this form is usually a sign that there is a dehydration product of the once water-containing salt.


Salt-induced pustules on a wall painting

Salzpusteln: separate, loose to compact, to about 1 mm diameter large salt crystals.


Salt crust caused by de-icing salt

Salt crust : Crust composed of soluble salts, which develop in the presence of high salt levels, salt aggregates with planar cohesion and of very different thickness (a few microns to mm)


White loose crust (sugary crust): It consists of units that are visible to the naked eye or low magnification as glass-clear crystals. Sugary crusts usually form in a moisture film. However, they can crystallize from a salt efflorescence that takes up water from the surrounding air and goes into solution and crystallizes again in a dry climate.


SEM photo of a satin like crust

Satin Crust: Flat, shiny crust of salt. Thick ....crusts of gypsum are formed only by repeated recrystallization and over longer periods.



Cauliflower - like efflorescences

Cauliflower crusts: Crust of white, spherical aggregates, so that its surface resembles that of a cauliflower. Cauliflower crusts occur preferentially at small defects (cracks or similar) on an otherwise relatively dense plaster surface.



Fiber crust: Crust made of whiskers, close to each other, perpendicular to the substrate. They arise usually on moist substrates.



Literature[edit]

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