Petrophysical properties and durability of granites employed as building stone:...

• Author(s): Sousa, L.M.O.
• Date: 2014
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/3057
• Origin: Repositório da UTAD
• Subject(s): Granite; Petrophysical properties; Durability; Dimension stone
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

The use of a rock as a building stone is conditioned by several factors, from its aesthetic characteristics to its petrophysical properties. Even though the latter are taken into consideration, only a few of them are usually assessed. The purpose of this study is to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the petrophysical properties of nine Portuguese granites employed as dimension stones. Granites with different textural characteristics and degrees of weathering were selected in order to highlight the relationships between the properties, and to identify the most important ones affecting the rock behaviour. The posttectonic granites, with low porosity and fewer fissures, show better mechanical behaviour, while the most weathered granites have poor mechanical behaviour that limits their use in some applications and/or environmental conditions.