Examination of the thermal and metallographic characteristics at high temperatures of natural stones (andesite) extracted from different elevations

This study examines the high‑temperature thermal response of andesite stones extracted from two different elevations of Mount Ağrı (Türkiye) in order to improve material selection strategies for engineering applications. Thermal conductivity and density values of the samples were first measured under laboratory conditions. The specimens were then heated to 850 °C and cooled by natural convection while surface temperatures were recorded at fixed time intervals using a thermal camera. Based on these measurements, convective heat transfer coefficients were determined, and the time‑dependent thermal diffusivity and Biot numbers were subsequently calculated using the first-term approximation of the Fourier series. Metallographic examinations were conducted to correlate the thermal behavior with microstructural characteristics. Results indicate a pronounced effect of elevation on thermal performance. The sample obtained from the higher elevation exhibited substantially greater thermal diffusivity, reaching 2.93 × 10⁻5 m2 s−1 at 360 s and decreasing to 8.96 × 10⁻6 m2 s−1 at 1300 s. In contrast, the lower‑elevation andesite showed lower diffusivity values (1.83 × 10⁻5 m2 s−1 at 360 s and 5.9 × 10⁻6 m2 s−1 at 1300 s). Conversely, Biot numbers were consistently higher for the lower‑elevation sample, decreasing from 0.60 to 0.29 during the cooling process, whereas the high‑elevation sample displayed values from 0.314 to 0.165. Metallographic analysis confirmed that variations in microstructure—linked to different geological formation conditions—directly influenced these thermophysical properties. Overall, the findings demonstrate that andesite sourced at higher elevations possesses superior thermal diffusivity and more favorable heat‑transfer characteristics at elevated temperatures. These results highlight the importance of geological origin in the design, assessment, and selection of natural stone materials for high‑temperature engineering applications.