Wood consolidation

Monomers with low molecular weights will diffuse into the wood more rapidly than polymers such as PEG. In a second phase, their in situ radiation curing will form wood consolidants that are much stronger than PEG. However, this method requires very heavy irradiation equipment, which is usually available only in nuclear research centers. The irradiation cell dimensions and the 7-source geometry limit the size of the artifacts. For mainly these reasons, the radiation process was applied in very few institutions and in most cases only at the experimental level. The Nucleart Laboratory, which routinely conserves waterlogged wood by this technique, is located in the Grenoble Nuclear Research Center of the French Atomic Energy Commission. 

Characteristics of Consolidated Wood. Consolidation introduces new materials to the artifact profile, materials that have their own stability characteristics. Thus, a consolidated artifact often acquires complex behavioral alterations. Subtle and gross alterations imbue characteristics that must be anticipated. 

Hygroscopic characteristics are important in anticipating the effect that environmental fiuctuations will have on the artifact. They are important criteria when selecting a consolidant. Most dry-wood consolidants are not hygroscopic when introduced to a highly hygroscopic environment, they may become dissociated because of the differential. 

Barclay, R. (1981). Wood consolidation on an eighteenth century English fire engine. Studies in Conservation, 26, 133-139. 

---