A New Prototype for Automatic Identification of Stone Block Internal Structure

Nowadays, the inner shape and economic viability of a stone block is dependent on the skill and experience of the “expert” that makes predictions based on external observations. This actual procedure is an extremely high empirical method, and when it fails, substantial work, time, and money is wasted. At present, researchers are committed to developing models to predict the stone block internal structure based on non-destructive tests. Ultrasonic tomography and electrical resistivity tomography are the tests that best fit these objectives. Trying to improve the existing procedures for collecting stone information and data exporting, a novel approach to perform both tomographies is proposed in this paper. This novel approach presents sound advantages regarding the current manual procedure: namely, (i) high accuracy due to a new automatic positioning system; (ii) no need for highly skilled operators to process measurements; (iii) measurements are much easier to derive, and results are quickly delivered. A comparison between the new automatic process and the current manual procedure shows that the manual procedure has a very low accuracy when compared to the new developed automatic system. The automatic measurements show extremely significant time savings, which is a relevant issue for the future competitiveness of the stone sector.

Raw Materials Sources of Building Materials of Ukek Districts

Cataloguing of the Ukek architectural objects has produced the basis for conclusions on the market saturation with local construction material (sandstone) for building foundations. The amounts of building stone to be found within Ukek were insufficient to satisfy the needs of the construction segment of the medieval market. Numerous outcrops of Paleogene sandstones within the Lysogorskoye Plateau used to be developed as early as the beginning of the 20th century. A medieval settlement lying 11 km away from the town and pertaining to its vicinity happens to be close to the site of sandstone development in the Lysaya hill. Mineralogical-petrographic studies of the stone block covered with artistic carvings and found in Ukek indicate its similarity to the sandstones from the occurrences and deposits in the Lysaya hill. According to the results of mineralogical-petrographic analysis, the stone joint block and the grave plate from Ukek is reliably comparable with dolomites from the Tyoplovka deposits of construction stone (carbonate rocks) situated 73 km away from Ukek.

Tas-de-charge – An Essential Part of Gothic Vault

Gothic architecture can be viewed from several perspectives, including stylistic aspects, architectural theory, and structural analysis.As Gothic architecture is a skeletal construction, it is essential to achieve an equilibrium with the multiple loads and forces. Medieval master masons' architectural knowledge was firmly based on empirical learning, which stimulated the dynamic development of structural innovations.This paper emphasises and describes a particular type of vault springer, one of the most complicated and sensitive parts of Gothic construction. Known as tas-de-charge, it became especially characteristic of high Gothic architecture. According to its principle, the springer's lower courses contain the merged vault nerves and are carved from one single stone block in each course. The beds of these courses are not radial as those of the average voussoirs, but horizontal. Without the concept of tas-de-charge, the development of late Gothic vaults could not be imaginable. This particular solution made possible the creation of elegantly narrow imposts supporting the vault ribs, the double arch and the formerets. So far, tas-de-charge has not been a focus of interest in the historiography of Hungarian medieval architecture; however, it appears that it was commonly applied in our late Romanesque and early Gothic monuments.

КОНЦЕПТОСФЕРА ХРОНОТОПУ ВІЙНИ В КНИЗІ КАТЕРИНИ КАЛИТКО «ЗЕМЛЯ ЗАГУБЛЕНИХ, АБО МАЛЕНЬКІ СТРАШНІ КАЗКИ»

Стаття є спробою дослідження провідних складників концептосфери хронотопу війни в книзі малої прози сучасної української письменниці та перекладачки Катерини Калитко «Земля Загублених, або Маленькі страшні казки» на прикладі циклу оповідань із середньовічно-лицарською темпоральністю та оповідання «Мартин», в якому художньо висвітлено сучасну війну на Сході України. Концептний аналіз оповідань дозволяє простежити, яким чином сучасна війна концептуалізується в хронотопі художніх творів покоління українських письменників, передусім Катерини Калитко, та як це позначається на особливостях творчої манери, індивідуального стилю авторки, а також способах взаємодії з читачем. Мета роботи – виявити та дослідити провідні компоненти концептосфери хронотопу війни в книзі короткої прози Катерини Калитко «Земля Загублених, або Маленькі страшні казки».Методи. В основі дослідження – методи біографічного, порівняльного, герменевтичного аналізу.Результати. З’ясовано, що для творчості сучасної письменниці характерне концентроване смислове та вербальне напо-внення хронотопічних концептів, їх герметичність і водночас зовнішня простота. Концептосфера війни в аналізованій збірці складається з концептів води (субконцепти дощу, зливи, річки, моря), субконцептів кам’яного простору (стіни, кам’яної брили та фортеці) та субконцептів-символів національної ідентичності (материнської мови, дерева черешні). Традиційні національні концепти в художньому світобаченні авторки трансформуються та зазнають несподіваних способів переосмислення, що є яскравим індикатором глибоких зсувів у соціальному, духовному, філософському та творчому мисленні письменниці.Висновки. Концептуальними домінантами авторського хронотопу в збірці малої прози К. Калитко є простір землі як притулку в умовах війни не лише як збройної агресії, а і як протиріччя та дисгармонії всередині самої людини, що спричинені усвідомленням своєї інакшості, загубленості, відстороненості й відкинутості соціумом. Моделювання метафоричного та фантасмагорійного часу та простору для письменниці є чи не єдиною адекватною стратегією опису абсурдності війни, як явища у загальнолюдському масштабі: через закладені в оповіданнях багатошарові сенси, переосмислення та конструювання тра-диційних і самобутніх, новаторських, суто авторських концептів хронотопу авторка наголошує на антигуманності будь-якого воєнного конфлікту, що загострює й до того складну екзистенцію людей, переконаних у власній інакшості, несумісності з тією географією, в якій з певних причин вони змушені перебувати.Ключові слова: війна, концепт, субконцепт, художній час/простір, ідіостиль. The article studies the leading components of the conceptosphere of the chronotope of the war in the book of the small prose of the modern Ukrainian writer and translator K. Kalytko “The Land of All Those Lost, or Little Scary Tales” on the example of the cycle of short stories with medieval and chivalrous temporality, and the short story “Martyn”, which artistically enlightens the current war in the East of Ukraine.Purpose of the work is to identify and study the leading components of the conceptosphere of the chronotope of war in the book of short prose by Kateryna Kalytko “Land of the Lost, or Little Scary Tales”.Methods. The study is based on the methods of biographical, comparative, hermeneutic analysis.Results. Short prose of a modern writer is characterized by a concentrated semantic and verbal content of chronotopic concepts, their tightness and at the same time external simplicity. The conceptual sphere of war presented through the concept of water (subconcepts of rain, river, sea), subconcepts of stone space (wall, stone block) and fortress) and subconcepts-symbols of national identity (mother tongue, cherry trees). Traditional national concepts in the author’s artistic worldview are transformed and undergo unexpected ways of rethinking, which is a clear indicator of deep shifts in the social, spiritual, philosophical and creative thinking of the writer.Conclusions. The conceptual dominants of the author’s chronotope short prose by K. Kalytko are the space of the earth as a refuge in conditions of war not only as armed aggression, but also as contradictions and disharmony within man himself, caused by the realization of his otherness, loss, alienation and rejection. Modelling metaphorical and phantasmagoric time and space for the writer is almost the only adequate strategy for describing the absurdity of war as a phenomenon on a universal scale: through the multilayered meanings embedded in the stories, rethinking and constructing traditional and original, innovative, purely authorial concepts – some military conflict, which exacerbates the already complex existence of people convinced of their own otherness, incompatibility with the unelected geography in which for some reason they are forced to be.Key words: war, concept, subconcept, artistic time/space, idiostyle.

Estimating the growth rate in desert biological rock crusts by integrating archaeological and geological records

Biological rock crusts (BRCs) are ubiquitous features of rock surfaces in drylands composed of slow-growing microbial assemblages. BRC presence is often correlated with rock weathering, soiling effect, or with mitigating geomorphic processes. However, their development rate has not been quantified. In this work, we characterised and dated BRCs in an arid environment, under natural conditions, by integrating archaeological, microbiological and geological methods. To this end, we sampled rocks from a well-documented Byzantine archaeological site, and the surrounding area located in the Central Negev Desert, Israel. The archaeological, which is dated to the 4th–7th centuries CE, was constructed from two lithologies, limestone and chalk. BRC started developing on the rocks after being carved, and its age should match that of the site. The BRC samples showed mild differences in the microbial community assemblages between the site and its surrounding, irrespective of lithology, and were dominated by Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria. We further measured the BRC thickness, valued at 0.1–0.6 mm thick BRC on the surface of 1700 years old building stone block of about 0.1 square metres. Therefore, a BRC growth rate was estimated, for the first time, to be 0.06–0.35 mm 1000 yr−1. We propose that BRC growth rates could be used as an affordable yet robust dating tool in archaeological sites in arid environments.

Study on Ability of Ulstrasonic in Determining Joints in Dimension Stone Blocks

Ulstrasonic has been popularly applied in more practical sectors, contributing to assess any issues, such as non-homogeneous, defects, without direct measures. One of these applications is for solid materials, such as rock. With the characteristics and abilities of ulstrasonic, as well as dimension stone characteristics, the author studied the applied ability of this wave in dimension stone quarrying. Particularly, this is determining joints in stone blocks before delivering to the processing plant. Basing on researching the character, size, rock mechanics of stone bocks and ulstrasonic features, its work capability, principle of None-Destructive Testing device (NDT), the paper shows that measure method by ulstrasonic could exactly and reliably estimate joints in stone block. From ulstrasonic feature of transfering around avoid instead of not transfering through it, the method is released to navigate position, size and shape of joints in stone blocks.

Application of Castor Oil Based Polyurethane Resin in the Dimension Stone Block Wrapping Process

The dimension stone wrapping process is a method used before the sawing of the block which aims to enhance the integrity of the rock, thus ensuring that fractured or altered blocks remain intact while they are handling and splitting into slabs. This method increases safety and allows the processing of many materials once not commercialized. Nevertheless, the epoxy resin used in the process comes from a non-renewable resource and contains toxic substances on its composition. Therefore, in order to increase the eco-efficiency in the sector of dimension stones, a comparison of the epoxy resin with an ecological and non-toxic resin based on the castor oil, was carried out aiming to know the resulting tensile strength in the contact of the polymer with the stone surface. Two types of rocks were tested, a silicate and a carbonate one. The results indicated that the castor oil resin performed a higher tensile strength regarding carbonate rocks, suggesting that the castor oil resin could replace the epoxy resin when applied to this rock group, providing an environmental advantage and a global marketing differential.

Cristina Montana Pușcaș, Iosif Vasile Ferencz, Ciprian Cosmin Stremțan, Tudor Tămaș, Adrian Căsălean, The amazing architecture of the Dacians. Few thoughts concerning the use of mortars based on new analyses

In 2016, while carrying out a campaign on a Dacian “tower-house” type structure identified in earlier years on the Cetățuie Hill in Ardeu, an atypical material was noticed on the inferior surface of a stone block sitting perpendic¬ular on the revetment. Its appearance, of different colour and texture compared to the stone block it was attached to, led us to immediately assume it could be mortar. Based on this working hypothesis a series of questions were formulat¬ed, with the purpose of extracting as much valuable information as possible from the sample. Powder X-ray diffraction and petrographic investigations were carried out in order to answer these questions.

Detachment of Plasters in Masonry Buildings: Analysis by Acoustic Emission and Numerical Simulation

An innovative laboratory procedure is described for testing the mechanical adhesion of new dehumidified mortars applied in the restoration works. A specific adherence test was carried out on composite specimens made by stone block and repair mortar. During the laboratory test the acoustic emission (AE) technique was employed, in order to estimate the amount of energy released from fracture propagation in the adherence surface between mortar and stone. A numerical simulation follows the experimental data. The evolution of detachment process of mortar in a coupled stone brick–mortar system was analysed by AE signals, which can improve the numerical model and predict the failure mode in the adhesion surface of repair plaster.