Stone Building Materials: Characterization, Decay, and Conservation (Second Volume)

Dear Colleagues,

The conservation and management of stone building materials are multifaceted processes requiring studies across many disciplines. Such materials, widely used in any civil construction and monument, are susceptible to decay under the influence of physical, chemical, or biological agents, often acting in synergism. The characterization of stone materials is not only essential for predicting their durability and behavior in service, but also helpful for selecting the most compatible and performing restoration strategy. Knowledge regarding the nature, properties, and decay of stone materials is a key step to identify the remedial needs and plan for appropriate conservation actions. Sensors, measurement systems, and image processing are increasingly used for decay mapping and monitoring of stone buildings to promptly recognize the degradation risks and plan the restoration works. On the other hand, several approaches and a wide range of products have been designed to avoid, or at least reduce, stone decay.

Within this context, this Special Issue aims to publish original research and review papers, from investigators, in both academia and industry, dealing with recent advances in the study of stone building materials, either natural or artificial. Research based on laboratory tests, field trials, and case studies is welcome.

The topics include but are not limited to new methods used to characterize stone materials, the study of mechanisms of decay and synergisms between them, assessment of decay patterns, design and synthesis of innovative protective systems, effectiveness of conservation treatments, and provenance and technology of ancient materials.

Dr. Mariateresa Lettieri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• natural stone materials
• mortars and plasters
• concrete
• mechanisms of decay
• decay monitoring
• conservation treatments
• cleaning methods
• protective coatings
• consolidation
• durability
• weathering effects

• Stone Building Materials: Characterization, Decay, and Conservation in Materials (7 articles)