A new statistical derivation system named MERKONT (Marble Control) was developed in this study for the quality control of calcareous natural stone types used as industrial marble. A new classification was made via MERKONT system by taking into consideration the porosity values of 45 different natural stones collected from different parts of Turkey. In the scope of this system, Analysis of Variance: Nested Sampling (Optional) method was used as the statistical system. Natural stones were classified into five different groups on the basis of porosity change. These natural stones were subjected to mineralogicalpetrographical analyses with the aim of examining the relationship between this classification, porosity types and checking the accuracy of porosity change limit values. In these analyses, porosity value of the very small crystalline marbles was found to be low and of the porous travertines to be considerably high. In addition, variance range and standard deviation values of each group were reflected in the quality control curve. It was concluded that variance range increased, in turn, quality decreased in parallel with the increase in porosity values of the natural stones.
Marble industry is one of the most effective actors of crystalline carbonat Turkish mining industry economy. Therefore, the use of marble as a decorative facing material in structures is widespread. In general, marbles in Turkey can be classified into eight main groups. These marble groups are beiges, blacks, whites, cherry colors, pinks and greens. In addition to these groups, there are also travertine, basalt, granite and andesite varieties extracted for also construction industry. Senturk et al, [1] made a research on Turkish marbles and analyzed their characteristics from extraction to application in structures. Marble has many decorative and structural uses: it is used for outdoor sculptures and sculptural bases and it is used in exterior walls and veneers, flooring, decoration, stairways and walkways for architectural purposes. Travertine, limestone, sandstone and slate are other natural stones, which are frequently used in building applications. Travertine is a type of limestone and one of the most popular natural stones used in interior and exterior wall covering, interior and exterior paving, statuary and curbing. Limestone is widely used in buildings since it is readily available and easy to handle. Popular applications include countertops, flooring, interior and exterior wall coverings and exterior paving [2].
Marble is a metamorphic rock formed via recrystallization of limestone. Marble is metamorphic stone composed of calcite (CaCO3) and formed as a result of the re-crystallization of limestone under excessive pressure and heat. At the end of this process, a stone which has a very tight crystalline structure and low-level but definite porosity is created. Limestone is a calcareous sedimentary rock, which turns into marble due to the heat or pressure-induced (or both) metamorphosis. There are several varieties in the limestone group: calcarenite, coquina, dolomite, microcrystalline, oolitic, travertine and re-crystallized [2].