Author(s): IULIANA BUCURESCU | DOREL BUCURESCU
Journal: Journal of Science and Arts
ISSN 1844-9581
Volume: 12;
Issue: 1;
Start page: 107;
Date: 2010;
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Keywords: non-destructive measurement | moisture content | building materials | gamma-ray Compton scattering.
ABSTRACT
The measurement of moisture in porous building materials is an important issue in many situations. Especially in the case of the restoration of historical monuments, it is desirable to use non-destructive methods that can be easily adapted to field conditions (e.g., for assessment of moisture in building walls). Such a method is proposed in this work. It is based on the measurement of the incoherent (Compton) scattering at backward angles, of gamma-rays emitted by a source. This approach is rather flexible because both the source and the detector can be placed on the same side of the measured object (e.g., a wall). A simple experimental setup is presented, and used to demonstrate the possibility to measure the water contents in a common building material, red fired-clay bricks. The method gives, in general, at least an indication concerning the moisture content, a condition to get a quantitative estimation being the homogeneity of the investigated material(s).
Journal: Journal of Science and Arts
ISSN 1844-9581
Volume: 12;
Issue: 1;
Start page: 107;
Date: 2010;
VIEW PDF
DOWNLOAD PDF Original pageKeywords: non-destructive measurement | moisture content | building materials | gamma-ray Compton scattering.
ABSTRACT
The measurement of moisture in porous building materials is an important issue in many situations. Especially in the case of the restoration of historical monuments, it is desirable to use non-destructive methods that can be easily adapted to field conditions (e.g., for assessment of moisture in building walls). Such a method is proposed in this work. It is based on the measurement of the incoherent (Compton) scattering at backward angles, of gamma-rays emitted by a source. This approach is rather flexible because both the source and the detector can be placed on the same side of the measured object (e.g., a wall). A simple experimental setup is presented, and used to demonstrate the possibility to measure the water contents in a common building material, red fired-clay bricks. The method gives, in general, at least an indication concerning the moisture content, a condition to get a quantitative estimation being the homogeneity of the investigated material(s).
