Study of building stones durability against the freeze-thaw process: Current methods and recommendations for the future

Strength Characteristics, Ultrasonic Wave Velocity, and the Correlation between Them in Clay Bricks under Dry and Saturated Conditions

“…Any changes in the water content of construction materials containing clay minerals play a critical role in these materials’ engineering behavior. A minor modification in the water content can be associated with a significant integrity loss of the physical and strength characteristics of the construction materials [ 18 , 23 , 26 ] and therefore can affect their durability against environmental deterioration processes such as freeze–thaw, salt crystallization, and acid corrosion [ 5 , 33 , 34 ]. With regard to the importance of clay minerals in the engineering behavior of the construction materials, the constituent minerals of the samples were categorized into two groups including clay minerals (CM) and nonclay minerals (N-CM).…”

“…Clay brick is one of the most common construction materials used in buildings [ 1 ]. Under some climatic conditions, weathering processes such as freeze–thaw, salt crystallization, acid corrosion, wetting–drying, and groundwater erosion can lead to brick deterioration and, thus, damage to the building [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Figure 1 shows examples of the deterioration of bricks used as construction materials in buildings caused by the harmful effects of weathering processes such as salt crystallization.…”

“…When the induced stresses exceed the strength of the brick, new pores are created, and preexisting pores widen and deepen. Consequently, these changes affect the inherent characteristics of the brick and change them during its service life, thereby limiting its durability [ 5 ]. The first step to preventing the integrity loss of bricks subjected to weathering processes is to detect the beginning of deterioration and monitor its change intensity over time.…”