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Natural,ecofriendly and energy efficient coatings as a viable solution suitable for architectural surfaces

Pentari Evangelia

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Summary

The present research paper has been drawn up in the Lab of Cultural Inheritance and Modern Structure of the Polytechnic School of Crete under the supervision of the Associate Professor of the School of Architecture Mrs. Pagona Noni Maravelakis. Its aim is the study of color mortar and coating with natural minerals and other mortars with an ecofriendly behavior (such as hydraulic lime and hydrated lime) as a means of saving energy in buildings. Firstly, theoretical research takes place concerning the materials and more specifically certain categories of them, like the mortar, binders, aggregates, the role of water and its additives. The above mentioned theoretical research alsoincludes definitions, technical characteristics and properties of the materials. Secondly, it refers to the role of those materials and their properties, emphasizing their effect on cities, as well as on their green areas. Moreover, there isreference to cool materials, analyzing their different kinds, their uses and benefits. The paper also includes an experimental part, where at first there is reference to raw materials used in the compound of mortar, along with an elaborate presentation of the compound process of mortar, followed by the experimental studies implemented on them, in order to discover their emissivity and solar reflectance values, the defining of color coordinates of the test pieces and the analysis of their stability. At this point we should express our gratitude towards the Associate Professor Mrs. Dionisia Kolokotsas of the Built Environment and Energy Management Lab and Doctor Konstantinos Gompakis for his invaluable help. In addition there is a detailed analysis of all the instruments that have been used in order to reach our final conclusions. Following the listing of the results, their interpretation makes clear that all mortar compounds had satisfactory solar reflectance and emissivity, with the exception of cement compounds, hydrated lime and sand and also with cement, marble granules and glass beads all of which appeared to have low solar reflectance values. The compound with the highest solar reflectance and brightness is the one with hydraulic lime, sand, marble granules and glass beads. The coating compounds that were studied, include apart from the ecological binders also the naturally colored minerals. Moreover, a small amount of naturally colored minerals was added to the compounds, based on hydrated lime and it was observed that there are no big differences among the results, something that is deemed as positive, since it means that there is no alteration in the mortar characteristics with the addition of natural colors or ocher,something that leads us to the conclusion that it can be considered as an alternative for the final coat of paint. The minerals were selected to give colored textures close to the scale of “Polygnotos”, according to the common opinion ofcolor perception of Aris Konstantinidis, in the Greek Mediterranean Architecture, that is abstained from the widespread incorrectly awareness of today total white settlements, in the Greek folk Architecture. Finally there was a comparison between natural color minerals and commercial plastic acrylic paint with cool materials as additives, which showed that the indicators of plastic paint were lower than the ones with a natural coating. However, the above is no cause for concern, as in the past we have seen similar results in other studies, but also because the results of commercial paint materials are short termed. Test pieces will be exposed to environmental conditions for erosion and conclusions will be drawn accordingly after one year of exposure. To conclude, based on research and the stability of the coatings after the passing of many months, the most suitable compound with the best results during all stages of the evaluation, is the mortar with hydraulic lime, sand, marble granulesand glass beads, which is an excellent option in the field of architectural technology and can be used not only for restoring already existing building structures, but also when dealing with monuments and archaeological sites.Especially nowadays, it is imperative that we make the most of the benefits of green building and take the growing need for energy saving into account, so that all architectural surfaces bear the mark of longevity, eco-friendliness in their design, and stability in all environmental conditions.

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