Abstract

Archival boxes are used as a preventive measure to control the microenvironment in museums and archives storages. However, their efficiency in protecting valuable artefacts from fluctuations in relative humidity (RH) is not yet fully understood. In this study, the environmental performance of different archival boxes with different configurations (size, design, presence of holes/paper material, cardboard types, surface modification) was included in the evaluation of internal environment (RH). The effectiveness of archival boxes on reducing relative humidity fluctuations was investigated by testing various properties of boxes and boards, such as air exchange rates (AER), moisture sorption and water vapour transmission rates (WVTR). While most cardboard boxes showed only a limited buffering against the humidity ingress, strategies such as surface modification limited the interaction of a box with the external environment, resulting in a more stable internal environment. Material and box properties, such as moisture sorption, AER and WVTR proved to be useful quantitative tools for assessing the environmental performance of the selected archival boxes.

Details

Title
Evaluation and modelling of the environmental performance of archival boxes, part 1: material and environmental assessment
Author
Novak, Morana 1 ; Grau-Bove, Josep 1 ; De Stefani, Caroline 2 ; Checkley-Scott, Caroline 3 ; Kraševec, Ida 4 ; Cigić, Irena Kralj 4 ; Elnaggar, Abdelrazek 5 

 UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College London, London, UK (GRID:grid.83440.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2190 1201) 
 London Metropolitan Archives, London, UK (GRID:grid.450982.2) (ISNI:0000 0000 8548 9095) 
 Conservation by Design Ltd, Milton Keynes, UK (GRID:grid.450982.2) 
 University of Ljubljana, Heritage Science Lab Ljubljana (HSLL), Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia (GRID:grid.8954.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0721 6013) 
 University of Ljubljana, Heritage Science Lab Ljubljana (HSLL), Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia (GRID:grid.8954.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0721 6013); Ain Shams University, Department of Archaeological Science and Excavations, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo, Egypt (GRID:grid.7269.a) (ISNI:0000 0004 0621 1570) 
Pages
24
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Dec 2024
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
20507445
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2918142133
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.