Water absorption and dehydration of natural stones versus time

Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of natural stones play an important role on deciding their application area as a building stone. In this study, water absorption and dehydration time of five different types of natural stones (marble, limestone, travertine, onyx and granite) were comparatively examined. Porosity, dry unit weight, wet unit weight, water absorption ratio and chemical analyses of the rock samples were also determined. In the light of the obtained experimental results, it was found that MgO content as the chemical property, and porosity as the physical property played a major role in the water absorption capacity and dehydration time of the studied natural stones. Basing on some observations made in this study, it was also emphasized that common standards involving the determination of water absorption coefficient by the capillarity test in rocks should be re-evaluated.