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Natural Stones Physical and Thermal Properties

Natural Stones Physical and Thermal Properties

A stone or a rock is a naturally occurring composite of minerals. Stone has been used for thousands of years as a major construction material because it possesses qualities of strength, durability, architectural adaptability, and aesthetic satisfaction. There are two principal branches of the natural-stone industry - dimension stone and crushed or broken stone. The uses of the latter vary from aggregate to riprap, in which stones in a broad range of sizes are used as structural support in a matrix or to provide weathering resistance. Dimension stones are blocks or slabs of stone processed to specifications of size, shape, and surface finish. The largest volume today lies in the use of slabs varying from 1 to 4 in in thickness that are mounted on a structure as a protective and aesthetic veneer.

Conversion factors:
1 lbm/ft³ = 16,018 kg/m³.
1 lb/in² = 6.894.8 N/m².
1 Btu/(ft · h ·°F) = 623 W/(m ·°C).

There are two major types of natural stone: igneous and metamorphic stones, composed of tightly interlocking crystals of one or more minerals, and sedimentary rocks, composed of cemented mineral grains in which the cement may or may not be of the same composition as the grains. The major groups of natural stone used commercially are:

Granite, a visibly crystalline rock made of silicate minerals, primarily feldspar and quartz. Commercially, ‘‘granite’’ refers to all stones geologically defined as plutonic, igneous, and gneissic.

Marble, generally a visibly carbonate rock; however, microcrystalline rocks, such as onyx, travertine, and serpentine, are usually included by the trade as long as they can take a polish.

Limestone, a sedimentary rock composed of calcium or magnesium carbonate grains in a carbonate matrix.

Sandstone, a sedimentary rock composed chiefly of cemented, sandsized quartz grains. In the trade, quartzites are usually grouped with sandstones, although these rocks tend to fracture through, rather than around, the grains. Conglomerate is a term used for a sandstone containing aggregate in sizes from the gravel range up. The above stones can be used almost interchangeably as dimension stone for architectural or structural purposes.

Slate, a fine-grained rock, is characterized by marked cleavages by which the rock can be split easily into relatively thin slabs. Because of this characteristic, slate was at one time widely used for roofing tiles.

It is still widely applied for other building uses, such as steps, risers, spandrels, flagstones, and in some outdoor sculptured work. Formerly, it was used almost universally for blackboards and electrical instrument panels, but it has been supplanted in these applications by plastic materials. Plastic sheets used as a writing surface for chalk are properly called chalkboards; the surface on which writing is done with crayons or fluid tip markers is termed marker board.

Miscellaneous stones, such as traprock (fine-grained black volcanic rock), greenstone, or argillite, are commonly used as crushed or broken stone but rarely as dimension stone.

Sources:

REFERENCES: Kessler, Insley, and Sligh, Jour. Res. NBS, 25, pp. 161–206. Birch, Schairer, and Spicer, Handbook of Physical Constants, Geol. Soc. Am. Special Paper 36. Currier, Geological Appraisal of Dimension Stone Deposits, USGS Bull. 1109. ANSI/ASTM Standards C99–C880. ‘‘1986 Annual Book of ASTM Standards,’’ vol. 04.08 (Building Stones).

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