Workplan

Synthesis of the project workpackages

TeACH is a multidisciplinary project that aims to build devices and tools for use in detecting and monitoring the damage on various treated and untreated cultural heritage materials, taking into account changing trends in pollution compounds and concentrations predicted in the near and far future. While the main focus will be on outdoor measurements and effects, the project will also study the indoor consequences. The devices and tools adopted for this purpose will include commonly adopted ones, already existing devices opportunely adapted, improved or transformed, and newly developed ones.

TeACH foresees a workplan with the following steps (workpackages):

WP 2
Prediction of the pollutants in the changing near and future scenario and prioritization of the most important ones for protection of movable and immovable cultural heritage and effects on materials
Leader: CNR-ISAC

Based on the study of previous EU projects, knowledge and experience, the aim of WP2 is to identify the most important pollutants and microclimatic variables today damaging movable and immovable cultural heritage. Subsequently, after the selection of materials to be included in the project, the prediction of the parameters most relevant to the conservation of cultural heritage and their changes in the near and far future will be carried out. Once identified, the most important parameters for the preventive conservation and maintenance of cultural heritage will be prioritized

WP3
Effects of predicted pollution on treatments
Leader: UCL - UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

There is a lack of studies dealing with the effects of environmental pollution on the conservation treatments used on immovable heritage, especially consolidation treatments employing a variety of inorganic and organic polymeric materials. In view of the predicted new pollution patterns and agents, a study will be performed on the effects of pollutants on protective coatings used for consolidation of stone, brick, mortar, concrete etc. This will provide data on the necessary frequency of repeated treatments. It will also allow an assessment of the economic impact of emerging pollutants on built heritage conservation

WP4
Study of identified existing devices and their evaluation for integration in the kit 
Leader: LABEIN-TECNALIA

In WP4 a study will be performed of existing tools present on the market for the measurement of the variables and compounds identified in WP2. Such devices will be subsequently modified for their inclusion,  with the new ones built in WP5, in a compact, economical kit for the control of the weathering of outdoor cultural heritage in the near and far future.

WP5

Construction of new tools and a kit including new and existing sensors
Leader: TECNOPENTA

 

WP5 is devoted to the technological innovation of TeACH. It foresees the development of technical solutions to cover the needs and gaps identified in WP2 and WP3 to assess and monitor environment-related damage to immovable and movable cultural heritage in the near and far future. Such tools will measure the physical/chemical effects resulting from changing pollution concentrations and typologies. In particular, the most innovative device will be able to evaluate the blackening and colour change of surfaces according to the changing damage typologies. A compact, economical and user-friendly kit for outdoor control will be assembled, comprising long-standing devices, more recently built ones, adapted for the project, and a new specially developed sensor.

 

WP6

 

WP6 foresees the realisation of the different software necessary for in loco and remote control: one for each new device, one to manage existing tools in order to ensure their compatibility with the new ones, and finally a simple software to manage the kit for monitoring the outdoor pollution situation and evolution. This software will be devoted both to use of the single devices and to the kit for in loco and remote control.  This software will be tested during the field tests foreseen in WP7, and improved during the experimentation at the different sites.

WP7
Application and instrumental validation in field tests
Leader: UNIVERSITY OF ANTWERP

The WP7 is devoted to the experimental validation of the new kit during a certain number of field tests. Six different climatic and environmental situations in urban realities have been selected:
a) northern Europe: Norway-Oslo historical centre
b) central Europe: Germany - Cologne Cathedral
c) eastern Europe Poland - Cracow National Museum
d) western Europe: Spain - Elyseos Theater, Bilbao
e) southern Europe: Italy – S. Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Florence
f) a Mediterranean country
A comparison between the results obtained at the selected sites by the kit set up and those obtained through specific laboratory analyses will be done. Particularly, a series of chemical analyses will be performed in laboratory on the samples of gas and aerosol, especially carbonaceous particles, collected indoors and close to the target sites, and from surface deposits sampled directly on the buildings.
All the collected data, both in field and in laboratory will be processed to calibrate and validate the instrumental data given by the new kit set up. The scientific results obtained through the monitoring made available by the use of the built kit will constitute the basis for establishing the maintenance and preventive conservation strategies for cultural heritage exposed to pollution, to give inputs to arrive at the necessary reduction of concentrations of the most damaging gaseous and particulate pollutants in the proximity of cultural heritage areas, and for defining thresholds for aesthetic perception by the public of black particle accumulation on monuments.

WP8
Modelling of indoor environmental conditions influencing the future damage of moveable and immovable cultural heritage
Leader: NILU - NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR AIR RESEARCH

 

To be able to assess probable future environmental damage to movable cultural heritage, it is necessary to have means to measure and evaluate the indoor environmental conditions that cause the damage. In WP8 a strategy for the combined use of modelling tools and measurement instruments to assess the indoor environmental conditions will be devised. The preventive conservation strategy uses best knowledge about thresholds for the environmental effects of specific pollution and climate parameters to give threshold for effects as measured on the Early Warning dosimeter. The strategy also gives guidelines for the determination of the causes of measured unacceptable environmental conditions. In WP8 a strategy for the diagnosis of unacceptable environments will be produced, based on information about the outdoors, as provided by open sources or by the other WPs in this project, combined with IMPACT modelling and the MASTER EWO-G dosimeter. The usefulness of the interpretation of result readings from the MASTER EWO-G dosimeter will be extended by making them valid for inorganic materials through a calibration procedure towards observed effects on inorganic materials. Best existing knowledge about the effects of single environmental parameters on inorganic materials will be used to establish acceptable values in parallel with those already existing for organic materials. The acceptability interpretation based on EWO dosimeter readings will thus be extended to the whole general range of movable cultural heritage. This will substantially increase the usefulness of EWO dosimeter exposure and result readings. In addition, tests will be performed to include dust and soiling dosimeter with the EWO, using the same glass chips, without the gas and climate sensitive polymer coating,  to collect dust and soiling particles. Measurement of dust and soiling on the glass chips will be performed using photospectrometry at suitable wavelengths.

 

WP9
Guidelines for the future prioritization of air pollution monitoring, dissemination, marketing, economic evaluation  and exploitation
Leader: ICIE - COOPERATIVE INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION

 

In WP9 technical and methodological guidelines will be produced for the future prioritization of air pollution monitoring, based on the results made available by the previous WPs.

WP9 foresees the diffusion and introduction on the market of the new devices, dissemination of the guidelines for the users, policy makers, etc., and implementation of the knowledge based on the results for the production of the European directives and norms. Finally, a very important aspect will be developed, i.e.  an economic near and far future evaluation based on the weathering related to the scenarios formulated for the heritage and conservation action performances. This cost benefit evaluation will also integrate economic assessment for policy decision making, in order to highlight the effects of applying or not applying environmental monitoring systems, undertaking or not-undertaking policy choices to control and reduce pollution levels, etc.