Salt transport and crystallization in porous building materials

Salt weathering is a major cause of deterioration of porous building materials. To obtain information about the mechanisms underlying these damage processes we have studied the moisture and ion transport. We measured the time evolution of NaCl saturated samples of fired-clay brick during one-sided drying using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The moisture content and amount of dissolved Na ions could be measured quantitatively as a function of position. The NaCl concentration profiles obtained from these data reflect the competition between advection to the surface and redistribution by diffusion. By representing the measured moisture and NaCl profiles in an efflorescence pathway diagram (EPD) also the crystallization can be taken into account. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.