A comparative study of epoxide resin and cementitious grouts for the delamination of sandstone at El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

414 Pages·1994·8.4 MB·English

by  Melbourne, Dawn Marie

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ACOMPARATIVE STUDYOF
EPOXIDERESINANDCEMENTITIOUS GROUTS
FORTHEDELAMINATION OFSANDSTONE
AT
EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEWMEXICO
Dawn Marie Melbourne
A THESIS
Historic Preservation
Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
1994
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Frank (£. Matero Samuel Y. Harris
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David G. De Long
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my gratitude to my advisor. Professor Frank G. Matero,
for his guidance, advice, criticism and support during the preparation of this
thesis, as well as throughout my graduate studies. I would also like to thank
Professor Samuel Harris who kindly contributed a generous amount of time
reading this thesis and provided me with invaluable advice. The assistance
from Dr. Alex Radin of the Material Testing Laboratories is also greatly
appreciated.
Thanks are also due to the members of the National Parks Service Southwest
Region without whom this thesis would not have been possible, namely Jake
Barrow, Mike Taylor, Michelle Pelletier, Kaisa Bertholi, Antoinette Padgett
and Angeline Bass. I would also like to acknowledge Dennis Sack of Olson
Engineering, George Austin and Marie Ennis, P.E. who were instrumental in
the field testing and evaluation of proposed treatments. I am indebted to
Alaa El-Habashi for his creative ideas, constant good humor, and endless
encouragement throughout the preparation of this work.
Finally I must thank my family, whose love and support have been the
motivation for all of my achievements.

ABSTRACT
Inscription Rock, part of El Morro National Monument in New Mexico, has
experienced deterioration and loss of areas of inscribed sandstone through the
detachment and subsequent delamination of layers of stone. While grouting
is a frequently used and versatile technique for the concealed reattachment of
delaminated layers of stone and related materials, the question remains as to
the type of grout and method of application for reattaching exfoliating layers
of stone of historic importance which are under a potentially wide range of
mechanical stresses. In response, an experimental program was designed to
investigate and compare the properties of epoxide resin and cementitious
grouts applied as continuous films, epoxy "spot welds" and a combination of
both epoxy "spot welds" and cementitious grout infill, and to assess the
physical and mechanical properties of these various methods of application
and their relative effects on the stone. The ultimate objective of the
experimental program was to determine the minimum amount of adhesive
required for readhesion, and to assess whether epoxy applied as spot welds
was more or less effective than epoxies and cementitious grouts applied as
continuous adhesives. The results of the experimental program revealed
several significant differences between the mechanical properties of the
epoxy and cementitious grouts and the effectiveness of the various
application methods tested. On the basis of these results, only two materials
and three systems of application were chosen for further testing in the second
phase of the project. The purpose of this second phase was to develop a
program to field test at Inscription Rock the grouting materials and systems of
application recommended as a result of the research and testing carried out in
the first phase of the project. A program of field testing, aided by means of
nondestructive investigation, was thus carried out in order to provide the
opportunity for in situ evaluation of the facility of grout application,
verification of the success of grouting and assessment of the weathering of the
systems.