Abstract:
This work presents the results of physical, mineralogical and chemical characterization of the original mortar remains from mortar coatings and decorative elements of the University of São Paulo Museum, better known as "Ipiranga Museum", which was built on the historical site of the Brazilian proclamation of independence. The Museum’s collection is composed by more than 125 thousand items, including sculptures, furniture, weapons, costumes, paintings and documents. To characterize and to estimate the mixing ratio of the 32 mortar samples from coating and ornaments, it was performed a mineralogical analysis by petrographic and X-ray diffraction, a chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence and classic methods, as well as a particle size analysis of the aggregates. The mortar coatings and decorative elements were distinguished by their type. Most of the decorative elements show high levels of hydrated cement phases originated from a hydraulic binder, while the mixing proportion of the coating mortars and the high degree of carbonation indicate the use of calcitic and magnesium limes, besides sand. The use of quartzose aggregate and brick dust as a pozzolanic binder has also been shown in the analyzed mortar. Overall, the mortar presents good conservation conditions. However, part of the decorative elements show evidence of deterioration such as an abundance of micro-cracks, irregular voids, voids between aggregate and paste, and also microporosity in the paste. The presence of entrained air in bubbles, especially detected in several samples from the ornaments of the North and South facades, is a significant indication of the use of organic additions practiced at the time of the construction.
Reference:
This work presents the results of physical, mineralogical and chemical characterization of the original mortar remains from mortar coatings and decorative elements of the University of São Paulo Museum, better known as "Ipiranga Museum", which was built on the historical site of the Brazilian proclamation of independence. The Museum’s collection is composed by more than 125 thousand items, including sculptures, furniture, weapons, costumes, paintings and documents. To characterize and to estimate the mixing ratio of the 32 mortar samples from coating and ornaments, it was performed a mineralogical analysis by petrographic and X-ray diffraction, a chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence and classic methods, as well as a particle size analysis of the aggregates. The mortar coatings and decorative elements were distinguished by their type. Most of the decorative elements show high levels of hydrated cement phases originated from a hydraulic binder, while the mixing proportion of the coating mortars and the high degree of carbonation indicate the use of calcitic and magnesium limes, besides sand. The use of quartzose aggregate and brick dust as a pozzolanic binder has also been shown in the analyzed mortar. Overall, the mortar presents good conservation conditions. However, part of the decorative elements show evidence of deterioration such as an abundance of micro-cracks, irregular voids, voids between aggregate and paste, and also microporosity in the paste. The presence of entrained air in bubbles, especially detected in several samples from the ornaments of the North and South facades, is a significant indication of the use of organic additions practiced at the time of the construction.
Reference:
OLIVEIRA, Mírian Cruxen Barros de; SARASÁ, Antonio Luiz; CHOTOLI, Fabiano Ferreira; SUTELO, Flavia; ROSA, Magda. Physical, mineralogical and chemical characterization of mortar coatings and decorative elements of the Ipiranga Museum, São Paulo, Brazil. In:HISTORIC MORTARS CONFERENCE, 2016, Santorini, Greece. Proceedings.. 8 p.
