RISING DAMP IN HISTORICAL BUILDINGS: RESTORATION USING THE CHARGE NEUTRALIZATION TECHNOLOGY CNT DOMODRY®

Masonry Features
Traditional approaches aimed at eliminating humidity phenomena are based on the interaction between masonry water content and the physical properties of the constituent rocks. The feature which has the largest impact on the ability of rocks to absorb water is porosity, i.e. the ratio between empty volume and total volume; this determines the propensity of rock material to absorb underground water and ferry it through its capillary network to fill empty spaces. Research has shown that, depending on saturation levels, rocks show a decrease of of mechanical features, in terms of a reduction of compression resistance and of insulating capacity. It is also known that as porosity increases uniaxial compressive strength decreases [1] (See Fig 1 – 2) Moreover, experimental analysis has shown that, relative to saturation level, average resistance of saturated material is roughly equivalent to 75% of resistance of dry material and that this resistance is drastically reduced if one dries stone in a stove at a temperature of 105o C. […]