Periodic Reporting for period 3 - COMPLEX (The Degradation of Complex Modern Polymeric Objects in Heritage Collections: A System Dynamics Approach)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-04-01 bis 2021-09-30
The development of modern polymers during the 19th and 20th centuries has changed history and society and they are a part of our material heritage that it is essential to conserve for future generations. They tell us the story of the recent past, as part of 20th century social history collections. They are the physical manifestation of modern art forms such as cinema and photography, and important parts of archival collections. They are also important modern art and design objects. However, they can be among the most problematic materials in heritage collections, as they can degrade suddenly and severely. These objects are at risk due to their instability and a lack of knowledge within the museum sector as to their degradation behaviour. While key degradation mechanisms have been identified, there is a lack of understanding as to how these processes inter-relate and lead to observed damage. This was articulated shortly before the beginning of COMPLEX by researchers at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles:
“our understanding of plastics stability remains rudimentary. We have a menu of mechanisms that potentially explain degradation, but there is a tendency to default to them and recite them, rather than investigate skeptically what is actually going on.”
Tom Learner and Odile Madden (2014)
COMPLEX aims to to create a new cross-disciplinary vision for understanding and modelling polymer degradation - by viewing plastic museum objects within their environments as almost akin to living organisms and using a system dynamics approach to model the degradation of objects. This will introduce a new way of studying polymer degradation and also provides evidence-based guidance for heritage professionals who care for modern polymeric museum objects. COMPLEX will move on from the status quo of a “menu of mechanisms” by using system dynamics to model plastic artefacts as complex systems of interactions between material properties and environmental conditions. This will allow us to identify the key processes or compositional parameters which have the most significant impact on the degradation of plastic museum artefacts, supporting improved conservation decision-making. In addition, COMPLEX is introducing a novel way of approaching the study of polymer degradation, as this systems-based approach could be applied to other problems such as plastic waste in the environment.
The objectives of COMPLEX are:
- to introduce to the fields of both plastics conservation and polymer degradation a new way of understanding and modelling the degradation of polymeric objects: using a system dynamics approach.
- to provide evidence-based guidance on the storage and display of modern polymeric objects in museum, library and gallery collections
“our understanding of plastics stability remains rudimentary. We have a menu of mechanisms that potentially explain degradation, but there is a tendency to default to them and recite them, rather than investigate skeptically what is actually going on.”
Tom Learner and Odile Madden (2014)
COMPLEX aims to to create a new cross-disciplinary vision for understanding and modelling polymer degradation - by viewing plastic museum objects within their environments as almost akin to living organisms and using a system dynamics approach to model the degradation of objects. This will introduce a new way of studying polymer degradation and also provides evidence-based guidance for heritage professionals who care for modern polymeric museum objects. COMPLEX will move on from the status quo of a “menu of mechanisms” by using system dynamics to model plastic artefacts as complex systems of interactions between material properties and environmental conditions. This will allow us to identify the key processes or compositional parameters which have the most significant impact on the degradation of plastic museum artefacts, supporting improved conservation decision-making. In addition, COMPLEX is introducing a novel way of approaching the study of polymer degradation, as this systems-based approach could be applied to other problems such as plastic waste in the environment.
The objectives of COMPLEX are:
- to introduce to the fields of both plastics conservation and polymer degradation a new way of understanding and modelling the degradation of polymeric objects: using a system dynamics approach.
- to provide evidence-based guidance on the storage and display of modern polymeric objects in museum, library and gallery collections
The COMPLEX team consists of 5 people, the PI Dr Katherine Curran, 2 PDRAs (Dr Simoni Da Ros and Dr Argyro Gili) and 2 PhD students (Ida Ahmad and Isabella del Gaudio). We encompass a wide range of experience and expertise, including polymer chemistry, polymer degradation, materials analysis, heritage science, conservation science, mathematical modelling and chemical engineering. The development of the COMPLEX team builds on the established expertise in the area of modern polymers in heritage at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage and has enabled the establishment of a world-leading research group in this field. The COMPLEX project is also supported by expert partners Tate, the Museum of London, Lacerta Technologies and Process Systems Enterprise.
The first activity of the COMPLEX project was to develop a system dynamics model describing the degradation of historic polymeric objects. This was co-created with our heritage partners via a workshop led by system dynamics expert Dr Nici Zimmermann. A simplified version of the model has acted as a valuable project management tool and the more detailed model has been used to develop our mathematical models of different degradation processes.
Subsequent work can be broken down into 5 stages:
(i) Developing theoretical models of key degradation processes
(ii) Developing analytical methods for measuring key material properties
(iii) Running experiments to test and validate models
(iv) Measuring or estimating key parameters
(v) Updating, refining and combining different models into a single system dynamics model
The work of COMPLEX has already had international recognition, the PI has been invited to present the findings at the prestigious Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles (June 2018) and at a conference in Dresden at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in September 2019. She has also been invited to advise on a research project on cellulose nitrate storage at the Deutsche Museum, Munich (July 2019). Research from COMPLEX has been presented at 8 different conferences, which includes 12 poster and 3 oral presentations. These conferences range from the very scientific, including the Recent Applications of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry conference in March 2018 and the Polymer Degradation Discussion Group conference in Malta in September 2019, and those that focus more on museum conservation such as the Plastics Heritage Congress in Lisbon, at which the COMPLEX team led a session and the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works conference in Turin in 2018. One short paper has been published, introducing the concept of COMPLEX, this was in journal Studies in Conservation in 2018. One other paper has been accepted for publication, pending corrections, another has been submitted and 4 others are in preparation.
The COMPLEX project is actively disseminated on social media through our website and our Twitter account: @complexplastic
The first activity of the COMPLEX project was to develop a system dynamics model describing the degradation of historic polymeric objects. This was co-created with our heritage partners via a workshop led by system dynamics expert Dr Nici Zimmermann. A simplified version of the model has acted as a valuable project management tool and the more detailed model has been used to develop our mathematical models of different degradation processes.
Subsequent work can be broken down into 5 stages:
(i) Developing theoretical models of key degradation processes
(ii) Developing analytical methods for measuring key material properties
(iii) Running experiments to test and validate models
(iv) Measuring or estimating key parameters
(v) Updating, refining and combining different models into a single system dynamics model
The work of COMPLEX has already had international recognition, the PI has been invited to present the findings at the prestigious Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles (June 2018) and at a conference in Dresden at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in September 2019. She has also been invited to advise on a research project on cellulose nitrate storage at the Deutsche Museum, Munich (July 2019). Research from COMPLEX has been presented at 8 different conferences, which includes 12 poster and 3 oral presentations. These conferences range from the very scientific, including the Recent Applications of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry conference in March 2018 and the Polymer Degradation Discussion Group conference in Malta in September 2019, and those that focus more on museum conservation such as the Plastics Heritage Congress in Lisbon, at which the COMPLEX team led a session and the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works conference in Turin in 2018. One short paper has been published, introducing the concept of COMPLEX, this was in journal Studies in Conservation in 2018. One other paper has been accepted for publication, pending corrections, another has been submitted and 4 others are in preparation.
The COMPLEX project is actively disseminated on social media through our website and our Twitter account: @complexplastic
Our approach to modelling the degradation of heritage materials is entirely novel in this field. By combining models of transport phenomena, physical damage and chemical reactions we are producing phenomenological models that capture multiple degradation processes as part of a system. The models that Ida Ahmad and Dr Argyro Gili have produced represent a new approach to modelling the degradation of materials in heritage. This systems approach is also new within the field of polymer degradation.
Some of the analytical methods developed by Dr Simoni Da Ros are also very novel, particularly in their application to heritage materials. Some of this research has been submitted for publication, more is in preparation for publication. Isabella del Gaudio is pursuing extremely novel research in the area of water absorption in cellulose acetate. This will provide very valuable data for the models being developed in COMPLEX but also provides new insights into the responses of historic polymers to changes in environmental conditions in museum storage/display. This work is in preparation for publication.
Over the lifetime of the project, the following results are anticipated:
- results from accelerated and natural ageing experiments of historic cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate showing changes in material properties
- development of model to include multiple degradation processes in a single model
- measurement of relevant material parameters
- comparison of model predictions with accelerated ageing results and development of model to improve predictive ability
- dissemination of model to heritage field to demonstrate its use in making decisions about plastics conservation
Some of the analytical methods developed by Dr Simoni Da Ros are also very novel, particularly in their application to heritage materials. Some of this research has been submitted for publication, more is in preparation for publication. Isabella del Gaudio is pursuing extremely novel research in the area of water absorption in cellulose acetate. This will provide very valuable data for the models being developed in COMPLEX but also provides new insights into the responses of historic polymers to changes in environmental conditions in museum storage/display. This work is in preparation for publication.
Over the lifetime of the project, the following results are anticipated:
- results from accelerated and natural ageing experiments of historic cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate showing changes in material properties
- development of model to include multiple degradation processes in a single model
- measurement of relevant material parameters
- comparison of model predictions with accelerated ageing results and development of model to improve predictive ability
- dissemination of model to heritage field to demonstrate its use in making decisions about plastics conservation