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Proceedings of Metal 2004 National Museum of Australia Canberra ACT 4–8 October 2004ABN 70 592 297 9672.4 Artefacts - on-site treatment experimentation2.4.1 MetalsThe methodology to treat objects on-site was constrained by two factors;• Environmental conservation and workplace regulations that restrict the types of materials thatcan be taken to Antarctica,• the ambient conditions during the summer months that further limited product choice.In 1998-1999, on-site treatments were performed on a series of artefacts that included cans withlabels and contents, bed frames and the stove at Cape Royds. The artefacts were coated by brushapplication using either halogen lights to heat the metal surface before application, or directly onto thesurface. A coating or coatings were applied until a smooth even coat was observed (Maxwell, 1999).The coating product used on-site now trades as ACTIVE RUST INHIBITOR GP3000 (ARI) but in1998 was still in its early developmental phases. ARI was trialled because it complied with the existingAntarctic constraints and whilst problematic to apply in the ambient conditions, it is suitable to betransported by air, is removable with caustic solution and offered several advantages over other thencommercially available products.The ARI coating is a water-based emulsion of non-toxic polymers incorporating corrosioninhibitors of low odour. On application the product produces a hydrophobic film that is not easilydisplaced or penetrated by water and does not alter the surface appearance significantly. According toGerald Cairns, senior chemist at Cairns Corporation, when ARI GP 3000 is “applied to oxidised metalsurfaces, especially rusty steel surfaces, it partially dissolves the upper oxide layers and carries thisdown into the interstices in the underlying rust then penetrates to the parent metal surface where itreacts to form a tight bond. The oxide layer tends to flatten out under this influence. Thus the wholeoxide layer becomes a hydrophobic protective coating without altering the surface appearancesignificantly. The amounts of oxides present determine how much needs to be applied either by way ofdilution rate or multiple coats” (Cairns 2000).2.4.2 Paper experimentationA series of panels of acid-free paper were coated with a range of concentrations of ARI and water:pure ARI, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and left in the dark in Shackleton’s room to be seasonally assessed for colourchange against a blank (Figure 6) (Viduka 2002).Figure 6: Simple experiment to monitor the effects of ARI on paper.© Published by the National Museum of Australia www.nma.gov.au491
Proceedings of Metal 2004 National Museum of Australia Canberra ACT 4–8 October 2004ABN 70 592 297 9673. Results and Discussion3.1 The Corrosive EnvironmentObservations made over the years by the authors have borne out several now well documentedfacts (Held 2003, Maxwell 1998, Viduka 2001) Each site is not uniformly corrosive and prevailingconditions and site layout can be used to comprehend the topography of deterioration. The primarydriving mechanisms for the deterioration of the outside and inside artefact assemblages are different.Outside artefacts are exposed to a combination of:• high wind’s [ that can collect scoria dust and physically scour the surface (Figure 7)]• high UV causing bleaching of organic materials• significant concentrations of corrosive salts in the soil and in the snow and ice that on RossIsland can form thin crusts on the surface of the soil (Campbell and Claridge 1987)• aerosol salt solutions from the Ross Sea• the summer period when temperatures rise above freezing allowing snow to turn into meltwater and increases rate and extent of fluctuating Relative HumidityFor inorganic objects the proximity to dissimilar metals, the location of snow banks, run offchannels, melt water drip lines and exposure to prevailing weather conditions do cause acceleratedrates of corrosion. The presence of free water condensing onto cold metal surfaces is enough to startcyclic corrosion (Figure 8) and is compounded by the presence of corrosive salts present in ice, snowand air.Figure 7: Early wood has been removed by wind ablation on Discovery Hut leaving late wood inpronounced ridges. Note paint drip lines afforded longer protection leaving a last vestige of the originalsurface.© Published by the National Museum of Australia www.nma.gov.au492
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Section 4: Composite artefacts (PDF 20858kb) - National Museum of ...

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