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An Innovative Heat Transfer Method for Solving Old Mending Glued with Proteinaceous Adhesives in Manuscripts and Rare Books

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Abstract

Old mending in bound manuscripts and rare books can cause distortions on pages or new tears right beside the mends due to their stiffness and inflexibility. Additionally, they may also interfere with the readability of the pages as sometimes they cover text and illustrations. Detaching old mending papers glued with protein-based adhesives often requires a combination of moisture and heat. Nevertheless, not only has a uniform and accurate heat application always been difficult to achieve with the common heating tools, but the accessibility to the working area is also restricted when the mends are glued close to the spine fold of a bound volume. This study aims to introduce a new heat transfer method to the removal of old mends glued with protein-based adhesives through an innovative heating device – the IMAT heater (Intelligent Mobile Accurate Thermo-Electrical Device). This device is a flexible and ultrathin heat transfer mat based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which was developed by the EUfunded IMAT Research Project. The IMAT heater features a rapid thermal response, a precisely controllable and stable heat regulation as well as a uniform heat distribution during a conservation treatment. Owing to its optional size, air permeability and transparency, different needs of specific applications can be met. Furthermore, due to the slight thickness and the flexibility of the mat, it is considered to be ideal when dealing with old mends glued close to the spine fold of manuscripts and rare books. Experiments with applications and evaluation of coupling the IMAT heater with various hydrogels and Gore-Tex sandwiches are performed. After the investigation, a considerable temperature-related optimization on conservation treatment utilizing the IMAT heater is verified. An optimal working pattern of combining heat transfer with moisture introduction using the IMAT heater is suggested for the future conservation work. Besides, performance of each treatment variation correlated with different humidification sandwiches and treating temperatures is characterized. Finally, conservation treatments on three historical documents from the collections of the Bavarian State Library are successfully conducted: a medieval manuscript (BSB, Clm 18199), an incunable from the early years of printing (BSB, 2 Inc.ca 1726 a) and a printed book from the 18th century (BSB, Diss. 849 d, 16).
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... The resulting heating mats are flexible, with a non-tack surface and thin profile. While flexible mats were proposed originally for structural treatment of paintings (Olsson and Markevičius 2010, 2013, 2017, more recently, they have begun to find broader application in other fields, and were adopted for conservation of plastics (Krumrine 2019), paper and rare books (Liu 2019), photographic materials (Paganin 2021), and modern materials, discussed further. Since 2003, flexible mats have been used in numerous lining treatments in paintings conservation: in combination with low pressure vacuum envelopes for lining of a 17th c. painting by Orazio Gentileschi (Olsson and Markevičius 2017), and a series of six paintings by Kenneth Hudson (Markevičius et al. 2017), and in the 2010 loomed treatment of Veronese's Petrobelli Altarpiece at the National Gallery of Canada (Olsson and Markevičius 2010). ...
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The paper discusses innovative approaches and targeted structural treatments of works on paper and paintings made possible by temperature management technologies based on low-energy flexible mats for precision heat transfer. Flexible silicone MAT (Multipurpose Accurate Thermal Management, developed by the Precision Mat, LLC) laminates, and transparent carbon nanotube-based IMAT (Intelligent Mobile Multipurpose Accurate Thermoelectrical Device for Art Conservation, developed by IMAT project, Horizon Europe) prototypes with the associated mobile MAT and IMAT thermal management consoles were ideated and designed specifically for the field to offer accuracy, mobility and smart nano-tech for new CH remediation approaches over the unreliable traditional tools of the past, such as hand irons and heating tables, with the benefit of precision, steadiness, uniformity, and control in heat transfer from ambient to the customary temperatures used in heat activation (25 °C−65 °C). The varied MAT and IMAT mat dimensions, their flexible and thin profile combined with accuracy in the low temperature range allow conservators in diverse fields to formulate novel targeted treatments that exploit the effects of sustained precision mild heat transfer over time without the risks and unnecessary stress related to uncontrolled heat-transfer of the past. Case studies examine the application of flexible warming mats in diverse treatments of works on paper, and photographs conducted by the authors. The operational parameters and practical advantages offered by the low-energy heat transfer nanotechnology and targeted approaches taken in each particular treatment show the broad versatility of the new heat transfer method and how easily it could be tailored for the specific needs of each particular case, opening new opportunities for art conservators to refine their treatments within the margins of minimal intervention and risk.
... The resulting heating mats are very flexible, with a non-tack surface and thin profile. While flexible mats were proposed originally for structural treatment of paintings [Olsson and Markevičius 2010, 2013, 2017, more recently, they have begun to find broader application in other fields, and were adopted for conservation of plastics (Krumrine 2019], paper and rare books [Liu 2019], photographic materials [Paganin 2021], and modern materials, discussed further. Since 2003, flexible mats have been used in numerous lining treatments: In combination with low pressure vacuum envelopes for lining of a 17th c. painting by Orazio Gentileschi [Olsson and Markevičius 2017] (fig.7), and a series of six paintings by Kenneth Hudson [Markevičius et al 2017], and in the 2010 loomed treatment of Veronese's Petrobelli Altarpiece at the National Gallery of Canada [Olsson and Markevičius 2010]. ...
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The paper discusses new game-changing approaches and targeted structural treatments of works on paper and paintings made possible by temperature management technologies based on low-energy flexible mats for precision heat transfer. Flexible silicone MAT laminates (Multipurpose Accurate Temperature management), transparent carbon nanotube-based IMAT prototypes (developed by the Horizon IMAT project), and the associated mobile MAT and IMAT temperature management consoles were ideated and designed specifically for the field to offer accuracy, mobility and smart nano-tech for new CH restoration approaches over the unreliable traditional tools of the past, such as hand irons and heating tables, with the benefit of precision, steadiness, uniformity, and control in heat transfer from ambient to the customary temperatures used in heat activation (25˚C-65˚C). The varied mat dimensions, their flexible and thin profile combined with accuracy in the low-temperature range allow conservators in diverse fields to formulate novel targeted treatments that exploit the effects of seamlessly controlled precision mild heat transfer over time without the unnecessary stress and uncontrolled heat-transfer risks of the past. Case studies will examine the application of flexible warming mats in diverse treatments of, works on paper, and photographs conducted by the authors. It includes recent conservation treatments on paintings by N. Olsson, and three Master thesis research in Italy and Germany by M. Magnani on conservation of modern media, such as PVA (Vinavil) and sand paint matrixes by Giulio Turcato; on temperature optimized treatments on rare books and large-scale paper objects by Yuhui Liu, and innovative methods for the detachment of silver prints from secondary support by M. Paganin. The operational parameters and practical advantages offered by the warming nanotechnology and targeted approaches taken in each particular treatment show the broad versatility of the new method and how easily it could be tailored for the specific needs of each particular case, opening new opportunities for art conservators to refine their treatments within the margins of minimal intervention and risk.
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