Lecture on durability of lime

The Getty Conservation Institute invites you to the following talk:

    Weaker may be better: insights into the durability of lime
    A talk by Koenraad Van Balen
    University of Leuven and R. Lemaire Centre for Conservation
    Getty Center, East Building, Herculaneum room (L3 level)
    GCI Scholars Forum

    June 11, 2003 (Wednesday)
    4 pm

Lime mortar-an ancient and lasting building material used all over
the world-is a topic of renewed interest from both architectural
conservators and from building scientists looking for sustainable
construction techniques.

With an initial interest in preserving historic buildings with
centuries-old lime mortars and/or masonry, I started my research
into this topic about 15 years ago, investigating how the
carbonation of lime mortars occurs.  Lime mortars are very durable,
lasting for centuries, yet their behavior and properties evolve and
change over these long periods and I hoped to better understand the
mechanics of this process.  In carefully looking at this, I am
finding--contrary to the "standard' expectation that "stronger and
stiffer" materials are the most durable--that "weaker and softer"
lime mortars often prove the most durable because they permit
flexibility.  This offers promise not only for the preservation of
historic buildings, but also for the development of more enduring
construction techniques.

In my talk, I will describe the process by which the carbonation of
lime is effected first by the transfer (diffusion) of carbon dioxide
into mortars and then the consequent reaction of the lime with this
carbon dioxide.  I will also present the results of my research
undertaken as a Conservation Guest Scholar at the GCI during this
past year, and review other recent research illustrating the means
by which weaker lime mortars permit flexibility and improve the
interaction between mortars and stone, thus contributing to more
sustainable constructions.

Koenraad Van Balen is a Conservation Guest Scholar at the Getty
Conservation Institute.  He is also a professor in the Department of
Civil Engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium,
and on the faculty of its R. Lemaire Centre for Conservation.  An
expert on the consolidation of historic structures and masonry, he
is internationally recognized for his leadership in international
scientific research projects, numerous publications, and work in
graduate and post-graduate education.  While in Los Angeles, Dr. Van
Balen has been using GCI thermal analytical techniques and equipment
to further his ongoing research into historical lime-based mortars
and plasters.  This has included exploring ways in which knowledge
of historic lime-based construction techniques can contribute to the
development of sustainable new techniques.

A discussion and reception will follow, at which we look forward to
meeting our local colleagues working with buildings both new and
old.

While not required, an RSVP would be appreciated
(chebbert [at] getty__edu). If you will be arriving from outside the
Getty, please identify yourself as being with the "GCI Scholars
Forum" group and enter via the East Building Reception area on the
Plaza level of the Getty Center.


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:77
                  Distributed: Wednesday, June 4, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-16-77-016
                                  ***