Old wood, with which restorers and conservators are usually faced, is often attacked by various pests. This degradation alters the properties of wood and weakens its mechanical properties. For the purpose of this thesis, we impregnated various wood samples with different consolidants. We wanted to identify which consolidants have the best biocidal properties and at the same time give at least some of the mechanical properties back to the wood. In doing so we divided the test in two parts. In the first part of the test we focused on the resistance against wood-decaying fungi, while in the second part we examined the mechanical properties of the wood samples that we impregnated with five selected consolidants. The consolidants were selected according to frequency of use in the restoration / conservation science and commercial availability. We also used a consolidant which was still being developed at the time. The aim of the project was therefore to determine the resistance of the five wood consolidants against the brown rot fungi (Gloephyllum trabeum and Poria vaillantii), and test their effect on compressive and flexural strength of the consolidated samples. We came to the conclusion that the most resistant consolidant against Poria vaillantii is the Consolidating restaurateur. Consolidant with nanoparticles is the most effective against Gloephyllum trabeum. On average, the samples impregnated with the consolidant with nanoparticles gave the best results in the compressive strength tests and those impregnated with polyester resin gave the best results in the flexural strength tests.
|
