On the thermal degradation of marble

The effect of temperature changes in marbles is detachment of the calcite grains one from the other. Any satisfactory explanation of these phenomena should include consideration of the material's polycrystalline microstructure. The thermal action tends to favor decohesion rather than cleavage fracture of single crystal. A model is presented to be used to interpret some important aspects of marble behavior. Since the two-phase material is elastically homogeneous and isotropic, any kind of mechanical action would produce clearly identifiable state of stress and, since the marble specimen must be considered homogeneous, the material would break at those points where the limit strength is reached, independent of the grain texture.