A methodology for the use of alkyd paint in thermally aged easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing

Barbera, D., Young, C. , Charalambides, M., Taylor, A. C. and Zhang, R. (2022) A methodology for the use of alkyd paint in thermally aged easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 55, pp. 237-244. (doi: 10.1016/j.culher.2022.03.003)

Abstract

For the preservation of painted cultural heritage on wooden substrates, it is important to understand the fracture mechanisms in the multilayer system of which they are constructed and how the environment plays a role in the composites’ physical properties. Past research has investigated the material response of each constituent layer but much more needs to be done to represent the heterogeneous composite structure of easel paintings. In recent years fracture mechanics concepts have been applied to glue and glue/chalk multilayers. However, few experiments have been conducted on multilayers that include oil paint, due to its very long, and impractical drying time, which can be a few years up to decades depending on the type of study. The paper presents a methodology for the use of thermally aged alkyd paint in easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing, specifically as a substitute for naturally aged traditional linseed oil paint. Elastic and failure properties of the paint have been obtained from environmentally-controlled tensile tests on thin free-film samples. To obtain the characteristic properties of increased elastic modulus and reduced ductility, a thermal ageing protocol has been experimentally developed. The results are compared with data from the published literature, theoretical models and with 30-year-old samples of cold-pressed linseed oil lead white paint tested within this research work. The final methodology provides the research community with a viable way to produce samples that can be used to understand the behaviour of a (simplified) but complete multilayer system.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Nigel Blades and Christine Sitwell, National Trust. Paul van der Rijn, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Cecila Gauvin, Conservation Scientist Consultant, Amsterdam. Funding for this research is gratefully acknowledged from the EPSRC EP/P0024391/1 and EP/P003613/1 - Mechanisms of Low-Cycle Fatigue on Multi-layer Paint Systems on Wood, IMPASTOW.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Barbera, Dr Daniele and Young, Professor Christina
• Authors: Barbera, D., Young, C., Charalambides, M., Taylor, A. C., and Zhang, R.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > History of Art; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: Journal of Cultural Heritage
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1296-2074
• ISSN (Online): 1778-3674
• Published Online: 09 April 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Cultural Heritage 55: 237-244
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence