Long-term hygromechanical monitoring of Wooden Objects of Art (WOA): A tool for preventive conservation

Experimental assessment of a wireless communications platform for the built and natural heritage

“…Robust and efficient monitoring with these technologies is instrumental to establishing the causes of heritage element decay, which may include solar radiation, salt crystallisation, leaks or condensation, vibration and air pollution. Moreover, the preventive conservation of the cultural heritage presently advocated [16][17][18][19] calls for the uninterrupted, long-term monitoring of many parameters, in which the exhaustive assessment of network communications is an imperative. The present paper introduces a pioneering assessment of WSN communications in a number of built and natural heritage scenarios based on parameters such as the position of wireless sensor network nodes with respect to obstacles, the distance to the base station and weather conditions with a view to validating the system and establishing a methodology for ensuring reliable communications links for cultural asset monitoring.…”

Real-time evaluation of the efficacy of anoxic treatment for Cultural Heritage objects

“…One of the most delicate parameters to take into account is the level of Relative Humidity of the gas used: the commercial gas is sold at very low values of moisture content, which is a "pollutant" of the gas quality. The risk of inducing mechanical damages on hygroscopic materials because of the long time of the treatment in different RH conditions is high according to the different sensitivity of the objects [5] and should be therefore avoided. The inflating process is therefore carried out using a cylinder of an inert gas, the flow from which is split in two circuits; one of them passes through a cylinder containing water, the gas bubbles in the water, and exits at RH value close to 100%.…”

“…Some concerns on very specific aspects are part of recent researches: -the possibility of change on specific pigments (prussian blue [4]); -the reversibility of this effect. Some methodological slight differences have been adopted during recent years: -some commercial solutions available on the market are based on Nitrogen extraction from air in order to eliminate the need of cylinders; this can be a useful alternative in case of frequent need for treatments; -during the treatment oxygen scavengers can be added to the bag where the objects are stored in order to keep the oxygen concentration below the recommended values, even in case of small leaks; some concerns arise about their effect on RH in the bag, that with some commercial brands it can increase by some % points during the sealed phase, as verified by the Authors keeping a data-logger inside the bag for the whole duration of the treatment [5]; -some commercial materials, designed for food industry, are able to sequester oxygen on the film of the bag itself [6].…”

Use of 3D laser scanning for monitoring the dimensional stability of a Byzantine ivory panel

“…Specific monitoring procedures for preventive conservation and during ongoing conservation have already been applied to wood panels and panel paintings. Small deformations of organic material and objects can be measured through hygro-mechanical monitoring (Allegretti et al, 2013). Another method is the careful installation of reference points on the object, followed by distance measurement using dial gauges and digital Vernier callipers at regular intervals (Allegretti et al, 2014).…”