Godts, Sebastiaan;
Steiger, Michael;
Orr, Scott Allan;
Stahlbuhk, Amelie;
Desarnaud, Julie;
De Clercq, Hilde;
Cnudde, Veerle;
(2022)
Modeling Salt Behavior with ECOS/RUNSALT: Terminology, Methodology, Limitations, and Solutions.
Heritage
, 5
(4)
pp. 3648-3663.
10.3390/heritage5040190.
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Abstract
Damage to porous materials in heritage buildings caused by salt mixture crystallization is driven by the surrounding environmental conditions. To understand the crystallization behavior of a mixed salt solution as a function of changing climatic conditions (i.e., relative humidity and temperature), excluding factors such as the internal pore structure, the thermodynamic model ECOS/RUNSALT is the only freeware available that requires simple input and includes the most relevant ions for heritage buildings and solids. We suggest the use of specific terminology and describe how to use the model and how to interpret the output, with emphasis on key limitations for which solutions are provided. When used correctly, the model output can be trusted, specifically when it is used to inform preventive conservation (e.g., environmental conditions in which salt crystallization cycles should not occur). However, salt mixture kinetics and the internal pore structure remain crucial parameters that are not considered in the model. These aspects need further attention to develop a better understanding and correctly model salt damage in relation to climatic changes.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Modeling Salt Behavior with ECOS/RUNSALT: Terminology, Methodology, Limitations, and Solutions |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/heritage5040190 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5040190 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | salt mixtures; thermodynamic modeling; crystallization behavior; climate; built environment; conservation; masonry |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10160418 |
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