CURRENT APPROACHES IN THE RESEARCH OF DIMENSION STONES: FROM QUARRY TO HERITAGE

2017-02-02 2017-02-20 2017-03-05 2/28/2025 12:55:52 AM Advanced Geosciences 2 2017 Original research article 1 3 2017 .. http://dx.doi.org/10.21065/25205978.2.1 English Luís Manuel Oliveira Sousa Dimension stones, Fracturing, Physical-mechanical properties, Durability Humans use stones since ever. All the great monuments made over time are some way related with stones. The importance of stones increases every year with the creation of new materials and new applications. Stone related activities are important for some countries. In 2015 the international market of stone products generated a flux of 78 millions of tons with a value of 26 billions € . Aesthetic characteristics determine the choice among the available stone varieties, however others factors must be considered during the three phases of the stone processing cycle: exploitation, transformation and application. These three phases are conditioned by several factors which delimit the scientific investigation in the dimension stone field. The most important factors are fracturing, physical-mechanical properties and durability.