Periodic Reporting for period 2 - APACHE (Active & intelligent PAckaging materials and display cases as a tool for preventive conservation of Cultural Heritage.)
Período documentado: 2020-07-01 hasta 2021-06-30
In APACHE, the novel combination of active novel packaging materials with sensors and wireless sensor technologies (WST) provides smart, low-cost easy-to-deploy systems for the Preventive Conservation (PC) of artifacts in storage and exhibition. The ultimate goal of APACHE is to dramatically reduce the costs of mechanical climate control and monitoring systems, by developing and customizing smart and affordable novel materials, based on material science advancements and discrete and continuum modeling.
The overall objective of APACHE is the development of tools/solutions for effective and affordable Preventive Conservation, especially for small and medium sized museums, galleries, deposits and libraries, focusing on two aspects: 1) ACTIVE Packaging and display-cases/boxes solutions, to create a stable and optimized climate within the enclosures using innovative functional materials that have an active influence on, and interact with, the packed objects. 2) INTELLIGENT Packaging and display-cases/boxes tools, i.e. tools that give an additional function to the packaging. These include sensors that monitor the condition of the packed object or its surrounding atmosphere, and communicate through WST such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID).
APACHE will develop PC solutions characterized by low environmental impacts; innovative solutions will be screened by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) thus allowing the estimation of different environmental impacts such as climate change, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, etc.
Overall, APACHE is producing advancements from the state of the art in PC by developing cost-effective solutions for the PC of large and small collections and CH assets.
The main foreseen progress and the potential impacts of such advancements include:
• Practical and affordable tools/solutions in terms of cost and/or complexity of operation. A cost reduction of at least 50% is expected as compared to existing solutions and improved compliance with PC recommendations, without a negative impact on the budget presently available for PC, in particular for end-users such as small and medium sized museums;
• Improved CH degradation predictions and modeling-based decision-making with regard to the choice between preventive and remedial conservation measures;
• Clear prospect for quantified socio-economic gains from the proposed solutions (e.g. the creation of new services) also beyond their application for CH;
• Effective market uptake across Europe of the proposed solutions within five years after the end of the project;
• Contribution to sustainable open repositories of simulation/experimental/measurement data;
• Contribution to an increased citizens' awareness of PC of tangible CH;
• APACHE will substantially enhance the digital museum revolution having the possibility to check remotely the behavior of display cases, storage crates and archive boxes;
• From a social point of view the relevance of APACHE is of outstanding importance since the museums are one on the most relevant assets of European cultural heritage;
• The innovative solutions for preventive conservation developed within APACHE will allow the fruition of unique and valuable objects that are particularly prone to degradation without any risk for them. Many artifacts composed by vulnerable materials are currently not exhibited and transported with the aim to protect them and to avoid their deterioration. The preventive conservation solutions developed within APACHE will make possible the safe exhibition, transport and fruition of a wide number of artifacts, thus attracting an increasing number of visitors and then promoting the tourism industry.