Sugaring marble in the Monumental Cemetery in Bologna (Italy): characterization of naturally and artificially weathered samples and first results of consolidation by hydroxyapatite

The so-called sugaring of marble is a very common degradation phenomenon, affecting both historical monuments and modern buildings, which is originated by environmental temperature fluctuations. Thermal cycles are indeed responsible for micro-cracks formation at the boundaries between calcite grains, so that marble is subjected to granular disintegration and can be reduced to a sugar-like powder of isolated calcite grains by just the pressure of a finger. Since no effective, compatible and durable treatment for sugaring marble consolidation is currently available, in this paper a novel consolidating treatment recently proposed for limestone, based on the formation of hydroxyapatite inside the stone, was investigated for weathered marble. To test the new treatment on suitably decayed marble samples, some naturally sugaring marbles from the Monumental Cemetery in Bologna (Italy, nineteenth century) were firstly characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurement. Then, artificially weathered samples were produced by heating fresh Carrara marble samples at 400 degrees C for 1 h. The effects of artificial weathering were characterized using the same techniques as above, and a very good agreement was found between microstructure and mechanical features of naturally and artificially weathered samples. Then, the hydroxyapatite-based treatment was tested on the so-obtained artificially weathered samples, and the treatment effects were characterized by UPV, MIP and SEM equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The hydroxyapatite-based treatment exhibited a remarkable ability of restoring marble cohesion and a good compatibility in terms of modifications in pore size distribution, which leads to regard this treatment as a very promising consolidant for weathered marble.