Non-Destructive Assessment of Stone Heritage Weathering Types Based on Machine Learning Method Using Hyperspectral Data

Abstract. Stone cultural heritage is exposed to various environments, resulting in a diverse range of weathering types. The identification of these weathering types is vital for targeted conservation efforts. In this paper, a weathering type classification method based on hyperspectral imaging technology is proposed. Firstly, fresh sandstones are collected from Yungang Grottoes to carry out the simulated weathering experiments, including freeze-thaw cycles and wet-dry cycles with acid, alkali and salt solutions. Subsequently, the hyperspectral imaging system was used to collect the visible-near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) images of the sandstone samples with different weathering types and degrees. The surface spectral reflectance of sandstone samples with different weathering types were used as training data, with weathering types serving as the labels. Support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbour (KNN), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF) were used to establish weathering type classification models. The results show that the SVM model and LDA model based on both VNIR and SWIR spectra exhibit outstanding performance, with a best accuracy of 0.994. The framework proposed in this paper facilitates rapid and non-contact assessment of the weathering types of the superficial layers of stone cultural heritage, thereby supporting more targeted conservation work.