The Durability of Natural Stone - A Detailed Guide

We use natural stones for their natural beauty and timeless appeal. Apart from these, natural stones have some physical and chemical properties that are rendering them the most sought after material in the construction industry for centuries. Today, we are going to exploit one of those properties, which is Durability.

What Is the Durability of Natural Stone?

When we are going to define the durability of a material, it is the term used for an ability of a material to stay for a service life within the surrounding milieu, even without any damage or unforeseen maintenance requirement.
In simple words, natural stone should have resistance to various

• Weathering actions, including humidity, heat, frost/cold, wind, water, and Sun effects.
• Chemical attacks, including sewage, corrosion, carbonation, pH, and spills. 

What Are Parameters to Measure Durability?

There are numerous parameters, which are coming under consideration when we are going to measure the durability of the natural stones. For instance, according to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) procedures

• Absorption and specific gravity (C97)
• Modulus of rupture (C99)
• Compressive strength (C170)
• Flexural strength (C880) testing
• Abrasion resistance (C1353) testing

In practical life, construction industry apply three main metrics, such as

1. Splitting due to layering impacts.
2. Crumbling due to orientation and bonding for grains/clasts.
3. Cracking due to human-oriented breaks and natural fissures.

How to Test the Durability of Natural Stones?

Technically, durability assessment of natural stones carried out by taking different approaches, such as

1. Accelerated Laboratory Durability Tests: freeze-thaw cycling, wetting–drying, and salt crystallization resistance.
2. Milieu Tests: complex environmental testing in test cabinets.
3. Exposure site testing.

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