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Multi-Technique Characterization of Historic Blue Bricks from Beijing: Compositional Grouping, Weathering Assessment, and Conservation Implications.

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Title: Multi-Technique Characterization of Historic Blue Bricks from Beijing: Compositional Grouping, Weathering Assessment, and Conservation Implications.
Authors: Zhu, Zhaoyang1 (AUTHOR) zhuzhaoyang@ncut.edu.cn, Hu, Rui2 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Bo1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Materials (1996-1944). Jun2026, Vol. 19 Issue 12, p2666. 20p.
Subjects: Bricks, Materials analysis, Weathering, Preservation of historic buildings, Architectural details, Analytical chemistry techniques, Analytical geochemistry, Protection of cultural property
Geographic Terms: Beijing (China)
Abstract: Historic blue bricks are fundamental to Beijing's architectural heritage, yet cross-site compositional data for guiding material-compatible restoration remain scarce. This study applies WD-XRF, XRD, SEM, thermal expansion measurement, and physical property testing to 21 blue brick specimens from four Beijing-area sites spanning the Tang through Qing dynasties, with PCA and K-means clustering used to explore compositional grouping structures. Within this exploratory dataset, a compositional distinction separates the Ming and Qing Great Wall bricks: CaO falls from 7.7 to 1.5 wt.% as anorthite gives way to albite, while Qing specimens are denser (1.79 vs. 1.65 g·cm−3) with lower water absorption (15.9% vs. 20.9%). Two Wanping City bricks are strongly sulfate-enriched (SO3 up to 9.8%), and WP-SE3 additionally carries a heavy chloride load (Cl 2.1%), masking their original clay signatures and illustrating how unrecognized weathering can distort compositional grouping and source-related interpretation from bulk chemistry. K-means clustering yields compositional types that overlap only partially with site boundaries, capturing raw material variation rather than site-specific manufacturing fingerprints. Despite constraints in sample size and physical property coverage, the integrated dataset offers preliminary compositional benchmarks and limited performance data to inform period-specific brick replacement at these heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194907740
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Multi-Technique Characterization of Historic Blue Bricks from Beijing: Compositional Grouping, Weathering Assessment, and Conservation Implications.
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  Label: Authors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhu%2C+Zhaoyang%22">Zhu, Zhaoyang</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zhuzhaoyang@ncut.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Rui%22">Hu, Rui</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Bo%22">Zhang, Bo</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Materials+%281996-1944%29%22">Materials (1996-1944)</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 19 Issue 12, p2666. 20p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bricks%22">Bricks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Materials+analysis%22">Materials analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Weathering%22">Weathering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preservation+of+historic+buildings%22">Preservation of historic buildings</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Architectural+details%22">Architectural details</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Analytical+chemistry+techniques%22">Analytical chemistry techniques</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Analytical+geochemistry%22">Analytical geochemistry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Protection+of+cultural+property%22">Protection of cultural property</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beijing+%28China%29%22">Beijing (China)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Historic blue bricks are fundamental to Beijing's architectural heritage, yet cross-site compositional data for guiding material-compatible restoration remain scarce. This study applies WD-XRF, XRD, SEM, thermal expansion measurement, and physical property testing to 21 blue brick specimens from four Beijing-area sites spanning the Tang through Qing dynasties, with PCA and K-means clustering used to explore compositional grouping structures. Within this exploratory dataset, a compositional distinction separates the Ming and Qing Great Wall bricks: CaO falls from 7.7 to 1.5 wt.% as anorthite gives way to albite, while Qing specimens are denser (1.79 vs. 1.65 g·cm−3) with lower water absorption (15.9% vs. 20.9%). Two Wanping City bricks are strongly sulfate-enriched (SO3 up to 9.8%), and WP-SE3 additionally carries a heavy chloride load (Cl 2.1%), masking their original clay signatures and illustrating how unrecognized weathering can distort compositional grouping and source-related interpretation from bulk chemistry. K-means clustering yields compositional types that overlap only partially with site boundaries, capturing raw material variation rather than site-specific manufacturing fingerprints. Despite constraints in sample size and physical property coverage, the integrated dataset offers preliminary compositional benchmarks and limited performance data to inform period-specific brick replacement at these heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/ma19122666
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 20
        StartPage: 2666
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Bricks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Materials analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Weathering
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preservation of historic buildings
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Architectural details
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Analytical chemistry techniques
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Analytical geochemistry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Protection of cultural property
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Beijing (China)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Multi-Technique Characterization of Historic Blue Bricks from Beijing: Compositional Grouping, Weathering Assessment, and Conservation Implications.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zhu, Zhaoyang
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Hu, Rui
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zhang, Bo
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          Dates:
            – D: 15
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 19961944
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              Value: 19
            – Type: issue
              Value: 12
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            – TitleFull: Materials (1996-1944)
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