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A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
An integrated approach to the monitoring of rising damp in historic brick masonry
Highlights A byzantine church affected by rising damp was investigated by an integrated approach. The church is below the water table and a continuous pumping system is operating. Materials, moisture amount, salts, soil and indoor/outdoor climate were analyzed. The monitoring lasted 2 years and allowed to study the phenomenon of rising damp. The effect of an accidental flooding event was included in the investigation.
Abstract Monitoring rising damp in historic masonry buildings requires an integrated approach, including not only the quantification of moisture in materials over time, but also the investigation of the supply of water from the ground, the evaporative capacity of the surrounding air, and the presence of potentially hygroscopic salts. However, this approach is seldom applied, hence our knowledge of the phenomenon of rising damp in real historic masonry structures is often only partial. In this paper, the proposed approach was applied to the church of Santa Croce in Ravenna, Italy, an outstanding example of masonry building affected by rising damp and related materials’ deterioration. Santa Croce is a Byzantine church surrounded by an archaeological site and the whole area is presently located under the water table level, requiring a continuously operating pumping system to prevent the flooding of the entire zone. The testing and monitoring of moisture and salts in the church’s materials started in September 2020 and is presently running. The data collected so far are presented and discussed in this paper, providing a contribution to a better understanding of this phenomenon. Moreover, during the monitoring period, a pumping system failure caused the flooding of the area in the period August-November 2021, allowing to investigate the impact of this event on the moisture in the materials. The protocol of testing described in this paper may provide a promising and effective method to investigate rising damp and is a starting point in view of its mitigation.
An integrated approach to the monitoring of rising damp in historic brick masonry
Highlights A byzantine church affected by rising damp was investigated by an integrated approach. The church is below the water table and a continuous pumping system is operating. Materials, moisture amount, salts, soil and indoor/outdoor climate were analyzed. The monitoring lasted 2 years and allowed to study the phenomenon of rising damp. The effect of an accidental flooding event was included in the investigation.
Abstract Monitoring rising damp in historic masonry buildings requires an integrated approach, including not only the quantification of moisture in materials over time, but also the investigation of the supply of water from the ground, the evaporative capacity of the surrounding air, and the presence of potentially hygroscopic salts. However, this approach is seldom applied, hence our knowledge of the phenomenon of rising damp in real historic masonry structures is often only partial. In this paper, the proposed approach was applied to the church of Santa Croce in Ravenna, Italy, an outstanding example of masonry building affected by rising damp and related materials’ deterioration. Santa Croce is a Byzantine church surrounded by an archaeological site and the whole area is presently located under the water table level, requiring a continuously operating pumping system to prevent the flooding of the entire zone. The testing and monitoring of moisture and salts in the church’s materials started in September 2020 and is presently running. The data collected so far are presented and discussed in this paper, providing a contribution to a better understanding of this phenomenon. Moreover, during the monitoring period, a pumping system failure caused the flooding of the area in the period August-November 2021, allowing to investigate the impact of this event on the moisture in the materials. The protocol of testing described in this paper may provide a promising and effective method to investigate rising damp and is a starting point in view of its mitigation.
An integrated approach to the monitoring of rising damp in historic brick masonry
Franzoni, Elisa (author) / Berk, Bensu (author) / Bassi, Mattia (author) / Marrone, Clelia (author)
2023-02-02
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
An integrated approach to the monitoring of rising damp in historic brick masonry
| BASE | 2023
An integrated approach to the monitoring of rising damp in historic brick masonry
| Elsevier | 2023
Chemical analysis of damp brick masonry
| Engineering Index Backfile | 1931
Rising damp and salt transport in masonry
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996