Getty Conservation Institute 321d ago

Museums present an interesting array of problems related to the monitoring of the local environment, and the degree to which this environment affects the objects on display. These problems apply to the macro-environment, including the temperature and humidity within the museum, but perhaps more importantly to the local micro-environment created by objects in confined display spaces. The recognition that materials may emit chemicals that affect other materials in close proximity prompted the development of the Oddy test in the early 1970s. This test is based on changes in the appearance of test coupons over time. An emerging goal of our work with the museum community involves the development of a more quantitative and data-rich version of the Oddy test, based on the response of a quartz resonator that is coated with a thin film of an appropriate test material. With recent advances in electronics, the devices are small enough and inexpensive enough to be used extensively in a museum context. The devices measure changes in mass and mechanical properties of the coating, which typically has a thickness of several microns. This presentation will focus largely on results obtained with these devices on the curing of alkyd paints and linseed oil, and on the diffusion of plasticizers into cellulose acetate. These examples will be presented in the hope of seeding further discussion about the potential utility of these devices within the museum community. Presenter: Kenneth R. Shull, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University