Natural and agglomerated stone durability assessment according to technical standards

The assessment of rock behaviour and durability plays an important role in the use of rocks and similar materials for all building purposes. Durability is a complex term, therefore the paper deals with the terminology and aspects related to the evaluation and prediction possibilities of stone durability. Technical standards offer some laboratory procedures suitable for stone durability assessment. The paper presents the results of the application of some standard laboratory methods on select types of natural and agglomerated stones, from the physical properties determination and durability assessment point of view. On the basis of defined criteria of physical properties, such as the value of open porosity, uniaxial compressive strength and water absorption, was predicted the behaviour of selected stones against ageing and weathering. Results of the realised laboratory weathering tests such as the determination of resistance to frost and salt crystallisation, determination of resistance to ageing by SO2 action in the presence of humidity, and determination of resistance to thermal shock, confirmed and verified rock behaviour conditional on stone genesis, mineral composition and structural characteristics.