The Relationship between Surface Roughness, Capillarity and Mineral Composition in Roofing Slates

Abstract

Roofing slates are a category of building stones which have a very distinctive feature: High fissility, which allows them to be split into tiles that are thin, regular and large. There are several types of roofing slates, depending on their lithology. The four main lithologies are low-grade slates, slates stricto sensu, phyllites, and mica-schist. Occasionally, other rocks such as quartzites, serpentinites, or shales, can also be used as roofing slates. Roofing slates must ensure waterproofing, a quality that depends on both the rock and the installation. Installation must therefore take into account parameters such as the pitch, orientation, and overlap of the tiles in order to avoid capillarity, which could jeopardize waterproofing. These parameters are usually included in installation manuals. However, despite the fact that roughness is a parameter known to have an important effect on capillarity, it has never been thoroughly analyzed. Roughness varies depending on the type of roofing slate, but installation manuals do not take this factor into account. This study has measured surface roughness in diferent types of roofing slates using a laser scanner and determined the capillarity values along and across the grain direction. Furthermore, the role of dissolved salts in capillarity has likewise been studied.