ABSTRACT
Historical masonry structures are often subjected to degradation processes due to the damp rising, salt transport, and salt crystallization. Pores of building materials, such as natural stones or fired bricks, are filled with gaseous and liquid phases. The liquid phase could then consist of water and dissolved salts, that is then forced to migrate within the pores when external temperature and relative humidity vary. These changes could cause the precipitation of solid phase so called salt crystallization on the masonry surface (efflorescence) or within the material (subflorescence). The first is purely an aesthetic issue, the second can lead to structural damage called spalling: the flaking or peeling of superficial material. In this framework, the present paper aims at highlighting the role of the porous material properties, such as porosity and tortuosity on the whole phenomenon by a multiphase numerical model. Numerical results on benchmark simulations are presented and discussed.
