New Developments for the Sustainable Exploitation of Ornamental Stone in Carrara Basin

Federico Vagnon, Giovanna Antonella Dino, Gessica Umili, Marilena Cardu and Anna Maria Ferrero
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Federico Vagnon: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, 10125 Torino, Italy
Giovanna Antonella Dino: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, 10125 Torino, Italy
Gessica Umili: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, 10125 Torino, Italy
Marilena Cardu: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Anna Maria Ferrero: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, 10125 Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: The use of natural stone has historical and environmental value that makes it strategically valuable for landscape conservation in Europe. Marble, among others, is widely spread on Earth, and it offers high-performance features in architectural applications. However, the complexity of these formations and the rock variability in different ore bodies require detailed studies of the natural and induced stress state, the fracturing degree, and the influence of external factor (such as temperature and/or chemical agents) on the mechanical properties in order to optimize the exploitation processes by reducing extractive waste. This article shows a series of studies conducted by the authors over the last 20 years aimed at making the exploitation of marble blocks in the Carrara basin safer, more efficient, and, therefore, more sustainable. In particular, studies for increasing our knowledge of the natural and the induced stress state through on-site measurements and numerical modeling, studies to improve the quality of the exploited material through improvements of cutting technologies, studies to improve the knowledge of the mechanical behavior of the material under varying loads and temperature conditions, and studies to improve the reuse of water materials and their reduction are reported.

Keywords: ornamental stone; rock mass state of stress and fracturing; marble exploitation techniques; waste reduction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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