Mineralogical characterization of historical cement-based mortars from the Rupnik Military Fortification Line

Štukovnik, Petra (author), Grom, Janez Peter (author), Marinšek, Marjan (author), Bokan-Bosiljkov, Violeta (author)

This paper presents the results of cement-based mortars characterizations that were taken from rendered layers of military bunkers in the Rupnik Line. The Rupnik Line was conceived as a part of the fortified defence system protecting the Rapallo Border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, established in 1920. The bunkers were built between 1938 and 1941, and the renders of various compositions were applied as a camouflage layer that merged the bunkers with the environment. Results of petrographic examination and microstructural and chemical analysis of the samples confirmed that locally available crushed dolomite or limestone sands were used as an aggregate in the mortars. As binders, pure Portland cement or a mixture of cement and ground granulated blast furnace slag were used. The selection of the aggregate and binder type in a particular mortar was based on the colour of the artificial stone produced. All samples with the dolomite aggregate show the presence of alkali-aggregate reactions, dedolomitization of the grains and secondary calcite formation in the cement binder, along with the Mg-Al, Mg-Si and Mg-Al-Si phase formations. In mortar compositions with a high Portland cement content, the presence of delayed ettringite formation was also confirmed.

• Language: English
• Keywords: ACR reactions, camouflage renders, cement-based mortars, DEF, military bunkers, Rupnik Line
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering; FA - Faculty of Architecture; FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str. 1030–1041
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 7
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-147449
• UDC: 691
• ISSN on article: 1558-3058
• DOI: 10.1080/15583058.2020.1745320
• COBISS.SI-ID: 9112417
• Publication date in RUL: 05.07.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of architectural heritage : conservation, analysis and restoration
• Shortened title: Int. j. archit. herit.
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1558-3058
• COBISS.SI-ID: 233192448

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• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.