Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (HH-XRF): a non-destructive tool for distinguishing sandstones in historic structures
Year: 2016
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Determining the provenance of building stone can be important when researching the \nhistory of historic structures or identifying suitable substitute stone to use in building \nrepairs. Commonly, however, there is no written record of stone source, and a visual \nexamination alone is inconclusive. In many such situations stone provenance can only be \nconstrained with confidence if the stone has a distinctive property or character that allows it \nto be distinguished from, or matched with, other stones. A small proportion of stones have \none or more genuinely distinctive visual characteristics that uniquely confirm their \nprovenance, but for most stones such distinctive properties, if they exist at all, are cryptic \nand usually revealed only by microscope examination or bulk chemical analysis. However, \ncollecting and analysing representative hand samples for this purpose can be difficult, timeconsuming \nand damaging to historic structures. Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence analysis \noffers the potential to provide bulk composition data without the need to collect physical \nsamples. HH-XRF instruments are lightweight, wireless and portable, and they provide a \nrapid, non-destructive means of analysing most materials in a wide range of settings. This \nstudy has examined the benefits and limitations of the instrument when applied to \nsandstone building stones from the UK. A programme of laboratory tests has been used to: \ndevelop a robust methodology for gathering, managing, displaying and interpreting data; \ndetermining the extent to which sample surface condition affects the analytical results; and \nassessing the degree to which different sandstones can be distinguished on the basis of their \nbulk composition. The results are promising: the data can be used to compare, distinguish \nand match visually indistinguishable sandstones (and potentially a wide range of other \ngeological and man-made materials) quickly and easily, and as such the method should find \nwidespread application in disciplines such as building conservation and archaeology.
Authors: Paul Everett, Marjorie Gillespie
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2528962354