The huge enhancement of the creep of plasterboard by humid environments is an old problem in the building industry, but its origin remains unknown. To understand this mechanism a three scales study (macro : mechanical behavior, micro : dissolution kinetics, nano : atomic observation) has been done. There is a strong correlation between wet plaster creep and gypsum dissolution kinetics. The concordance between this correlation and the law of deformation by pressure solution, well-known in geology, permits to propose pressure solution as one of the mechanisms responsible of wet plaster creep. The topological evolution of the cleaved surface of a gypsum single crystal during its dissolution in a flowing under-saturated aqueous solution has been observed with an atomic force microscope. The kinetics of step migration strongly depends on the saturation state of the solution, the force applied by the tip on the surface, as well as the used additives. The study of the influence of the force applied by the tip on the step velocity evidence two different dissolution enhancement regimes. At high forces (> 15 nN) a corrosive wear behavior is observed, while at low forces (< 10 nN) pressure solution is the observed mechanism. The step velocity evolution with the force obeys the known kinetic law of pressure solution.
