Alternative method for minimally invasive determination of the wood fragility from cultural heritage assets

¹ Transilvania University of Brașov, Faculty of Wood Engineering, 500036 Bulevardul Eroilor 29, Brașov
² Laboratory of Restoration and Research “Restaurare Ionescu Constantin”, 550234 Henri Coandă 12, Sibiu

^* Corresponding author: restaurareionescu@gmail.com

Abstract

The main objective of the paper is to present an alternative, original method, as a minimally invasive technical solution, to determine the hardness of the damaged wood from the cultural heritage objects. For comparison, standard hardness determinations, Brinell and Janka methods are considered. The correlation of conventional hardness test results with the Brinell method, compared to the proposed MARK 10 test shows that less equivocal methods can be used for equally sensitive values. The minimal invasive measurement solution offers advantages in use and is a novelty with applications for the polychrome wood restoration. In order to determine the destructive level of several methods that determine the hardness of the wood, the different areas of the imprint left by the penetrator are compared: Janka hardness = 100 mm², Brinell hardness to maximum 78 mm², Mark 10 puncture being only 1.41 mm². The general conclusion of the paper highlights the strengths of the researched alternative, experimented and presented by us in order to determine the level of degradation of the wooden supports of the art objects of cultural patrimony. This method brings improvements for diagnosing the degradation level of wood panels as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the consolidation treatment.