Travertine - what is it? Features and characteristics of the material

The material from which the Roman Colosseum was completely built is called "travertine". What it is? Let's figure it out.

Travertine - what is it?

Travertine is called lime tuff - polycrystalline fine-grained rock. The name of the stone came from the Italian travertino. In the first century BC, the material was called a stone from Tibur (lapis tiburtinus). Travertine is an intermediate form of stone between limestone and marble.

How is the

Travertine is the product of precipitation of calcium carbonate (aragonite or calcite) from cold or hot carbon dioxide sources. The rock is formed as a result of the removal of solutions of carbon dioxide containing soluble bicarbonate of calcium:

Ca (HCO ₃ ) ₂ → CaCO ₃ + H ₂ O + CO ₂ .

The main reason for this is the pressure drop that can occur when groundwater flows to the surface, during diffusion into the atmosphere associated with intense water movement, and also when plants are assimilated. Travertine-stone quite often contains prints of plants. Also, it may contain various organic residues.

Travertine natural: basic characteristics

The stone is characterized by a porous structure, which distinguishes it from limestone, which is a dense material. The porosity of the material ranges from 2 to 40%. Cells in the structure of travertine are formed due to sulfur dioxide gas rising upwards and passing through the calcareous layers of bubbles. To see the round holes remaining from the outlet of sulfur dioxide, you can cut it parallel to the direction of formation of the sediment.

Travertine - a stone with a small hardness (easily cut with a circular saw). Its density is an average of 1400-1800 kg per cubic meter. meter.

What kind of flowers is travertine?

Travertine is characterized by light colors of different shades. The breed can be white, yellowish, grayish, creamy, etc. Due to the presence of iron salts in travertine, it can change the shade as a result of their oxidation. For example, a white stone can acquire a sand or yellow shade. On the properties of the material, this is not reflected in any way.

There is a stone and more dark shades (brownish, brownish-gray, etc.). Travertines, which have a darker color, are characterized by better technical qualities.

Also there are stones with intensive coloring. Yellow and red travertine can serve as an example of such material. What it is? It is a calcareous tuff containing certain pigments, which give it a very bright shade.

Factors affecting travertine properties

The properties of the resulting material depend on many factors - the content of dissolved carbon dioxide, flow turbulence, temperature indices, etc.

One-piece quality travertine is formed in standing water. In places characterized by a strong current (for example, waterfalls), as a rule, produces a nodular travertine. What it is? Unevenly colored, having large, collected in groups of pores, a calcareous tuff.

The more impurities of biological origin will be involved in the process of formation of the rock, the higher is the index of its porosity.

The density of travertine depends on the pressure of the overlying layers on the lower layers, as well as the intensity of the new deposition of calcium carbonate on the layers that were formed earlier. Sometimes it turns out that the top layer of deposits can pass through itself a new sediment, due to which the pores and voids formed in the rock are filled. The result is a solid and very strong material.

The color of travertine depends to a large extent on whether calcium carbonate was subjected to additional external influences during the deposition process. If not, it will be white (or as close to the white as possible), which rarely happens. The bulk of the travertine due to the presence of particles of sand, silt, plant residues is characterized by shades ranging from light beige to nutty. If white travertine is contaminated with particles of river origin, it can also acquire a gray color.

Some materials include brown inclusions or layers of clay origin. This is due to the fact that the formation of travertine occurred in different periods, that is, the sources did not always come out on the same land, their flow changed.

Where are travertine deposits located?

The most famous deposits of travertine are in Italy (Tivoli, located near Rome), Germany (near Stuttgart), Turkey (the city-museum of Pamukkale, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site).

The largest deposits on the territory of the former USSR are in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Thus, the Ararat region is famous for its mines, which are one of the largest in the world. The travertine lying there is characterized by a high degree of crystallization and, consequently, high strength.

In Russia, deposits of calcareous tuff are located in the Pyatigorsk area and in Kamchatka.

Travertine deposits are also found in Tajikistan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan.

Where is travertine used? Main applications

Lime tuff is highly durable and can be easily processed, which is why it is successfully used as a building and facing stone. Since ancient times, houses, bridges, amphitheatres and other buildings have been built from it. The most famous and large structure is the Colosseum, which was completely built from a light yellow Roman travertine (from the mountains of Sabini).

Also, stone is used for the production of building materials and combating increased soil acidity in agriculture.

But most widely to date, travertine is used as a decorative material when decorating premises both inside and outside.

Travertine as a finishing material

Travertine, the price for which is relatively low (from 5000 rub./m ² ), thanks to its qualities allows you to produce from it various types of decoration materials for decoration, which have a number of advantages. The main among them are ecological compatibility, strength, frost resistance and moisture resistance.

Most often, travertine is used in the cut version in the form of tiles, differing nostrils on the surface and laid on the principle of mosaic. Due to its strength, the material can be used for both wall finishing and terraces or floors. Floor coverings of lime tuff are resistant to abrasion. Care for them is similar to caring for marble material.

Also travertine is used for the manufacture of countertops, window sills, stairs, bar counters and a number of other interior elements.

The porous structure of the material allows filling its cells with a special solution, thanks to which the attractiveness of travertine is saved. Some varieties of this breed have an external resemblance to a tree, due to which they are quite well combined with some other materials and furniture.

Travertine is widely used to create an interior in antique style. In this case, its surface is processed in order to increase the porosity and randomness of the scatter of the cells.

Along with the natural mineral, its imitation - artificial travertine - became widespread. This material is similar in color and texture, however, it differs in composition and some properties.

Due to the fact that cement is used in production, facing with travertine of artificial origin is much more resistant to the effects of aggressive media.