Durability of Stone Cladding in Buildings: A Case Study of Marble Slabs Affected by Bowing

Abstract

Bowing is an uncommon pathology that can affect marble stone cladding of building façades, causing a large permanent deflection and the degradation of the flexural and anchoring strength of the stone slabs, which can lead to the cladding falling from the façades. Moreover, the combination of bowing with wind pressure effects on the building façades can increase the risk of fracture and collapse of the stone slabs, especially if this combination is not properly evaluated during design. Motivated by a case study, this work describes a stability evaluation of a 15-year-old building façade coated with marble stone cladding affected by bowing and subjected to wind pressures. This evaluation was focused on the stone slabs, and was performed through finite element model (FEM) numerical simulations of these slabs submitted to wind pressures and through lab tests using samples of stone slabs removed from the building façade. The results obtained demonstrated stability problems on the stone slabs caused by wind pressure-induced stresses combined with the loss of strength due to aging and bowing effects, especially for slabs with larger dimensions.

Guidelines for Natural Stone Products in Connection with European Standards

“…In addition, the method and way of installing the finished stone products are of significant importance. This is confirmed by the many drawbacks and problems associated with the use of these natural building materials [16,[30][31][32][33][34][35].…”

“…Considering the physical and mechanical properties of ornamental stones, it is possible to see their strong interdependence [37,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Physical properties coupled with the mechanical behaviour of rocks are influenced by the mineralogical composition, degree of cementation, and grain size [7,31,[48][49][50][51][52][53]. More profoundly, Aladejare and Wang [37] showed that bulk density, specific gravity, and unit weight generally show low variability, while porosity and water content show high variability in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.…”

The Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment 2020: Official Conference Proceedings

“…Secondly, they leave the space for the more frequent renovations since their life-span reaches only 25 years (according to the warranties granted at the purchase), and, as it would be proved later in this research, the total pay-back of the investment capital is perfectly possible within this period. Frontini et al (2015), Sousa and Sousa (2019), Grelk et al (2007) In the following part of the research, the actual economic benefit of BIPV façade was calculated. The results are to be found in table 3 below.…”

Estimating the Service Life of Exterior Stone Claddings Subjected to Regular and Marine Service Conditions

“…These materials are less porous than porous sedimentary stones, which makes them more resistant to a marine environment [4,[42][43][44]. Nevertheless, large-size marble panels (height larger than 1.0 m) in a marine environment, in high temperatures, and in the presence of a moisture gradient suffer from the bowing failure mechanism; therefore, they are not recommended, especially under the influence of a marine environment [45][46][47][48]. The main cause of the deterioration mechanism in wetfixed stone cladding is the effect of cement mortar on the cladding stone.…”