CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A HIGH PERFORMANCE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODOLOGY REFERRING TO WOOD (FURNITURE) RESTORATION - CONSERVATION AND ECO-DESIGN UNDER THE SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPT

Exploratory research project type IDEAS, code ID-856/2008

GENERAL FRAME
           The project, with duration of 3 years (2009-2011), with national budget funding of 1,000,000 lei, is part of the National Research Programme PN II, within the category of exploratory research projects type IDEAS. The project was evaluated, approved and proposed for funding by the National Council of Scientific Research in Higher Education (CNCSIS) through the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education and Academic Scientific Research (UEFISCSU) following the national competition of grants in 2008, being currently in progress according to the Contract 1238/2008, Additional act 1/2009.
           The proposed project subscribes to the border research aiming to create and originally implement a methodological instrument for advanced scientific research in furniture restoration-conservation and eco-design, based on optical and electronic microscopy, FTIR spectrophotometry and FTIR microspectrophotometry. The project aims to develop the knowledge regarding the structure and composition for the basic materials used in these domains (wood, adhesives, finishing materials, consolidation resins), to make contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in their ageing/degrading phenomena. The project is gathering interdisciplinary domains, which imply multi and interdisciplinary research, so that inter-institutional cooperation at national and international level is important.

SCIENTIFIC OBJEC-TIVES
2009
           1.1 Methodology substantiation.
           1.2 Structural characterisation and materials identification in restoration activities and eco-design by means of optical microscopy.

2010
           2.1 Micro-morphological characterisation of materials involved in restoration and eco-design by
           electronic microscopy.
           2.2 Chemical structure analysis for materials used in restoration and eco-design by IR
           spectrophotometry.
           2.3 Simultaneous determination of micro-structural characteristics and chemical composition of
           materials involved in restoration and eco-design by means of FTIR microspectrophotometry.

2011
           3.1 Integration of the investigating methods into establishing new correlation between materials
           micro-structural characteristics and their macroscopic characteristics, respectively their behaviour
           under various processes.
           3.2 Implementation of performing methods for investigation into the study of some degradation and
           ageing phenomena with understanding of the mechanisms implied.

RESULTS
           According to the project structure, for the year 2009 the following activities were envisaged:
Objective 1.1 (achieved and reported in September 2009):
           - Elaboration of global concept of research approach.
           - Elaboration of the methodology of sampling, preparation and visualisation of samples as function
           of the material type and the microscopic technique.
           - Preliminary microscopic tests: Se insereaza figura cu a, b, c, d

Oak - transversal section - transmitted light technique TOM	Oak - transversal section - reflected light technique ROM (RLM)
Section through a fir wood support veneered with mahogany and finished with shellac - ROM technique in visible light	Section through a fir wood support veneered with mahogany and finished with shellac - in UV light - fluorescence

Objective 1.2 (in progress to be finalised and reported in December 2009):
           - Micro-structural characterisation and identification of wooden species for historic furniture - resulting in an electronic catalogue comprising sheets of macroscopic and microscopic characterisation of 22 local and exotic wood species.
           - Micro structural characterisation of some secondary wooden resources for eco-design (juvenile wood, branch wood).
           - Micro structural characterisation of other materials for restoration and eco-design.

DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS
           - International Conferences: BRAMAT 2009 - Brasov (2 presentations), ICWSE 2009 - Brasov (8 presentations), DAAAM International Symposium 2009 - Vienna, (1paper), Meeting of COST Action FP0802 - May 2009, Vienna (1 presentation and poster).
           - Publications in ISI journals and publications endowed in international data bases: Environmental Engineering and Management Journal EEMJ, volume 8, Issue 4/2009, pp. 669-678, pp. 1582-9596; European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (Holz als Roh und Werkstoff). Vol.67 (2)/2009: pp: 219-227; Pro Ligno, vol.5, nr. 4/2009.
           - Restoration Exhibitions: Furniture restoration - science, art and craft, Faculty of Wood Industry (May-June 2009), Restoration exhibition within the Museum of Stroesti Village (permanent, open in July 2009 at the occasion of the Session XXXVII of the Cultural Scientific Society Stroesti-Arges), presentation of restored objects within the exhibition stand of the Faculty of Wood Industry at BIFE 2009, Science and restoration - exhibition within ETNOVEMBER 2009.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
           We gratefully acknowledge the National Council of Scientific Research in Higher Education for financially supporting this research project.

Research team:
Prof. dr. chim. Maria Cristina TIMAR (project coordinator)
Conf. dr. ing. Lidia GURAU
Prof. dr. ing. Marina CIONCA
Prof.dr. ing. Dumitru LICA
Dr. ing. Alin OLARESCU
Drd. ing. Ramona DUMITRASCU
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