Final Report Summary - CONSIST (Comparison of conservation materials and strategies for sustainable exploitation of immovable industrial cultural heritage made of iron and steel)
Within the project CONSIST, traditional, modern, and newly developed innovative preservation attempts for iron / steel monument surfaces (methods and conservation materials) were comparatively tested, performed and finally, evaluated and recommended as best practice. Moreover, management action plans and general preservations recommendations were released for the treatment of (mainly large-scaled) iron / steel industrial heritage. Representative applications of promising preservation strategies and treatments within the project's runtime are dedicated to the following pilot objects / sites: an open-air railway museum in Jaworzyna Slaska, Lower Silesia, Poland ('Museum of industry and railway'), mining equipment belonging to the demonstration mine of the German mining museum Bochum, and two historical spiral stairs of two Palladian houses in Ireland.
The project activities focused on the following main objectives:
- release of preservation documentations of the three pilot objects;
- development of conservation and management (exploitation) concepts for treatment and future sustainable development of the three pilot objects / sites;
- comparative testing (artificial weathering in climate chambers) of available transparent resins / lacquers for iron / steel conservation (traditionally used and modern products), applied on original test coupons;
- instrumental analyses of corrosion / damage / preservation state of weathered / deteriorated iron / steel surfaces (analysis dedicated to the pilot objects and to original test samples, prepared for resin application and testing by artificial weathering);
- testing of cleaning measures, coating techniques and reversibility of conservation resins;
- development of transparent, water-based / organic solvent-free Ormocer's (new step of innovation);
- demonstration applications of most promising measures and materials on selected iron / steel areas of the three pilot objects, followed by subsequent evaluation;
- release of general recommendations for innovative and powerful preservation treatments, materials, and management / exploitation perspectives for industrial iron / steel heritage monuments and sites;
- continuous dissemination of project results, performance of final seminar(s) and workshop, release of a final project report with results and preservation recommendations.
The performance of the project and the release of deliverables lay generally within the expected time-scale (final report with delay), and the envisaged objectives for the third / last reporting period have been achieved (only final report with delay); few of the activities (water-based Ormocer development) or reports (reversibility trials) needed more time or laboratory work than expected, but Work packages (WPs) could finally be finished as planned. The cooperation within the project and between the partners has remained very positively, close, and creative. Altogether, he project ran smoothly without remarkable problems.
The following objectives / deliverables have been defined and finally achieved:
- release of the three pilot object's documentations describing the actual preservation state of the three pilot objects;
- instrumental analysis of weathered / deteriorated original samples from the three pilot objects, from the available test coupons and from additional samples (examination by light microscopy, SEM / EDX, cross sections);
- preparation of various test coupons for testing of cleaning treatments, resin application and loading by accelerated weathering (about 300 coupons with various surface preservation states);
- instrumental analysis of original samples and surfaces after application of cleaning measures;
- performance of accelerated weathering on various types of test coupons, coated with a variety of about 20 promising transparent resins / lacquers;
- performance of accelerated weathering on newly developed water-based Ormocer resin prototypes on various types of test coupons, coated with a variety of about 10 promising lacquers;
- the water-based Ormocer resin development has been performed as foreseen. Two different types of promising Ormocer prototypes could be developed and proofed for its stability by artificial weathering. Application on site (on test areas of different pilot objects) has been performed and intermediate results after natural (atmospherical) weathering are available. Periodical observation on a long-term time scale (next three years of weathering behaviour of the exposed resins) seem important and necessary;
- cleaning experiments and recommendations for iron / steel surfaces have been performed and finished;
- experiments on reversibility and re-treatability of resins / coupons have been under investigation and are finished. For different iron / steel surface types, deterioration phenomena and / or remaining surface layers (dirt, new or traditional coatings, separate metal / galvanising surface finish, etc.), recommendation for treatments are available;
- management (exploitation) concepts for treatment and future sustainable development of the three pilot objects / sites had been developed and are integrated in the final report;
- a high number of dissemination activities have been performed (release of website and leaflet; 10 regular and interim meetings, 1 special seminar at the Technical University of Wroclaw, several conference participations, posters and related publications). For the final dissemination of the project results, two final summer school events in Wroclaw and Berlin (more than 100 participants each), and a final one-day CONSIST workshop at the European Commission conference CHRESP had been organised in 2008.
The project activities focused on the following main objectives:
- release of preservation documentations of the three pilot objects;
- development of conservation and management (exploitation) concepts for treatment and future sustainable development of the three pilot objects / sites;
- comparative testing (artificial weathering in climate chambers) of available transparent resins / lacquers for iron / steel conservation (traditionally used and modern products), applied on original test coupons;
- instrumental analyses of corrosion / damage / preservation state of weathered / deteriorated iron / steel surfaces (analysis dedicated to the pilot objects and to original test samples, prepared for resin application and testing by artificial weathering);
- testing of cleaning measures, coating techniques and reversibility of conservation resins;
- development of transparent, water-based / organic solvent-free Ormocer's (new step of innovation);
- demonstration applications of most promising measures and materials on selected iron / steel areas of the three pilot objects, followed by subsequent evaluation;
- release of general recommendations for innovative and powerful preservation treatments, materials, and management / exploitation perspectives for industrial iron / steel heritage monuments and sites;
- continuous dissemination of project results, performance of final seminar(s) and workshop, release of a final project report with results and preservation recommendations.
The performance of the project and the release of deliverables lay generally within the expected time-scale (final report with delay), and the envisaged objectives for the third / last reporting period have been achieved (only final report with delay); few of the activities (water-based Ormocer development) or reports (reversibility trials) needed more time or laboratory work than expected, but Work packages (WPs) could finally be finished as planned. The cooperation within the project and between the partners has remained very positively, close, and creative. Altogether, he project ran smoothly without remarkable problems.
The following objectives / deliverables have been defined and finally achieved:
- release of the three pilot object's documentations describing the actual preservation state of the three pilot objects;
- instrumental analysis of weathered / deteriorated original samples from the three pilot objects, from the available test coupons and from additional samples (examination by light microscopy, SEM / EDX, cross sections);
- preparation of various test coupons for testing of cleaning treatments, resin application and loading by accelerated weathering (about 300 coupons with various surface preservation states);
- instrumental analysis of original samples and surfaces after application of cleaning measures;
- performance of accelerated weathering on various types of test coupons, coated with a variety of about 20 promising transparent resins / lacquers;
- performance of accelerated weathering on newly developed water-based Ormocer resin prototypes on various types of test coupons, coated with a variety of about 10 promising lacquers;
- the water-based Ormocer resin development has been performed as foreseen. Two different types of promising Ormocer prototypes could be developed and proofed for its stability by artificial weathering. Application on site (on test areas of different pilot objects) has been performed and intermediate results after natural (atmospherical) weathering are available. Periodical observation on a long-term time scale (next three years of weathering behaviour of the exposed resins) seem important and necessary;
- cleaning experiments and recommendations for iron / steel surfaces have been performed and finished;
- experiments on reversibility and re-treatability of resins / coupons have been under investigation and are finished. For different iron / steel surface types, deterioration phenomena and / or remaining surface layers (dirt, new or traditional coatings, separate metal / galvanising surface finish, etc.), recommendation for treatments are available;
- management (exploitation) concepts for treatment and future sustainable development of the three pilot objects / sites had been developed and are integrated in the final report;
- a high number of dissemination activities have been performed (release of website and leaflet; 10 regular and interim meetings, 1 special seminar at the Technical University of Wroclaw, several conference participations, posters and related publications). For the final dissemination of the project results, two final summer school events in Wroclaw and Berlin (more than 100 participants each), and a final one-day CONSIST workshop at the European Commission conference CHRESP had been organised in 2008.