Method for consolidating natural stone blocks
AssigneeGeo S.r.l.
InventorGiuseppe Marocco
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is described for repairing and consolidating a natural stone block (1), with internal fractures and structural discontinuities, in which around the block (1) a coating (2, 3, 4) is applied that wraps the block (1) below and along a vertical perimeter thereof and is higher than the block (1); the coating (2, 3, 4) is spaced from the block (1) and forms the liquid- and gas-tight housing and allows the resin to flow against the block (1). The containment of hydrostatic resin pressures and the control of resin consumptions are performed by an external formwork composed of the coating (2, 3, 4) and of structures (5) to a platform (11) for supporting and transporting the block (1).
Claims12
Method for repairing and consolidating a sustantially parallelepiped, natural stone block (1), with internal fractures and structural discontinuities coommunicating with at least one of six faces of the block (1), said method comprising the steps of:
- impregnating said block (1) under vacuum in a autoclave with hardening resins, said resins being poured in a liquid state on a free upper surface of the block (1) after having realised the vacuum state, a lower part of the block (1) and a perimeter thereof being contained in a liquid- and gas-tight housing;
- preliminarly core-drying said block (1) or heating said block (1) to completely dry it under vacuum;
- inserting resin into stone fractures and recesses through a following insertion of atmospheric pressure that operates as a piston on the fluid resin arranged in a space formed over an upper free face of the block (1), the resin being thereby injected into structural failures of the block (1) below;
- applying a coating (2, 3, 4) around said block (1), said coating (2, 3, 4) wrapping the block (1) below and along a vertical perimeter thereof and being higher than the block (1), said coating (2, 3, 4) being spaced from the block (1) with suitable spacers, said coating (2, 3, 4) being adapted to form the liquid- and gas-tight housing and to allow the resin to flow against the block (1), elements composing said coating (2, 3, 4) being mutually connected through a tight seam (9);
- characterised in that said spacers are also in the form of a resin-flow permeable fabric, and in that a containment of hydrostatic resin pressures operating from inside towards outside the block (1) and a control of resin consumptions are performed by an external formwork composed of said coating (2, 3, 4) held in position by sturdy structures (5), said structures (5) being secured by screwing or other securing means to a platform (11) for supporting and transporting the block (1).
Method for repairing and consolidating a natural stone block (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that a consumption of impregnation resins is limited by a structure that is placed above the block (1) after having ended its assembling, such structure being composed of a material whose specific weight is greater than the specific weight of the resin and globally heavy enough to win the hydrostatic resin thrust and being built with a sufficient thickness so that the resin cannot cover it on the top, said structure being built of a material to which the resin cannot stick on or being coated with a paint or another protection to which the resin cannot stick on, the structure as a whole being formed by a central square or rectangular part, said central part being able to be accurately lifted and transported onto the block through hooking means on connections, by possible additional longitudinal, transverse and angular prostheses, in order to cover a majority of an upper face of the block (1), said structure being composed in such a way that its lower face in contact with the block is equipped with projections in contact with the upper face of said block (1), such projections being such as to allow a passing channeling for the resin with a very reduced height, said structure forcing the inserted resin to be arranged in thickness equal to many centimeters in a perimeter corridor defined by its plan encumbrance and by a perimeter inside the impermeable sheet that is contained and supported by structural containment panels, said structure being also equipped with a central through-hole and equipped with reference notches for a resin level, said reference notches allowing to visually evaluate said level, through an inspection porthole, and allowing to provide, with a command or a manual action, inserting further resin to avoid that an area of the upper face of the block (1) is uncovered, making air penetrate inside the block and making the impregnation process fail.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.