Rencontres et débats

Vibration and conservation

Held over two days, on November 7th and 8th, 2024 in Paris, the “Vibration and Conservation” international symposium will feature a first day dedicated to talks divided into three sessions, and a second day devoted to practical workshops on vibration measurement and interpretation.

Symposium organized by the Vibration & Conservation Consortium, coordinated by Institut national du patrimoine (French National Institute for Heritage).

Cultural heritage objects are likely to be subjected to vibrations on numerous occasions. When moving, either internally to a workspace from a reserve area, or externally for a loan, for example. Vibrations can originate either inside the museum, as in the case of visitors’ footsteps or air conditioning systems, or from external sources such as construction work or public transport passing close to the museum. Nowadays, more and more sound events are taking place in museums, from fashion shows to concerts to sound and light shows. As a result, the high acoustic levels produced regularly cause objects and their supports to vibrate.

Among the various factors known to alter cultural property (climatic variations, light, contaminants, microbiology, etc.), shocks and vibrations are the ones most rarely considered by heritage professionals.

However, repeated or occasional vibrations, even of low amplitude, can lead to cracking and fracturing. Cultural heritage objects must therefore be protected against this source of deterioration.

The aim of this two-day symposium is to give a voice to the various stakeholders in the heritage sector ―preventists, conservator, curators and conservation scientists― to discuss practical solutions for protecting objects against vibrations, as well as problems that have been encountered so far but for which solutions have not yet been found.

Programme

November the 7th / Interventions

9:00–9:30 AM
Welcome for participants

9:30–9:45 AM
Introduction and workshop presentation

Session 1 : vibration and transport

9:45–10:15 AM
Experience-based vibration risk management,
Keynote speaker : W. (Bill) WEI, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Amsterdam (The Netherlands).

10:15–10:35 AM
Long distance transportation in Japan: continuous vibration measurement and analysis,
Hiroshi WADA, Curatorial Research Dept., Tokyo National Museum (Japan).

10:35–10:55 AM
Investigating the efficiency of custom-made backing board systems in mitigating vibrations on canvas
Franziska LIPP, Stiftung Jüdisches Museum Berlin (Germany) & Dr. Ing. Kerstin KRACHT, Technical University Berlin (Germany)

10:55–11:10 AM
Questions and discussions

11:10–11:30 AM Break.

Session 2 : vibration and events

11:30 AM–12 :00 PM
On shaky ground: rethinking vibration monitoring of artworks and museum objects,
Keynote : Tom GALIKOWSKI, Bickerdike Allen Partners LLP et Dr. Catherine HIGGITT, National Gallery, Londres (Royaume-Uni).

12:00–12:15 PM
Flash talks
Caroline BIRO, musées Beauvoisine (France).
Catherine DIDELOT, musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris (France).
Arne JOHNSON, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (USA).
Joelle LE ROUX, musée du Louvre, Paris (France).

12:15–12:30 PM
Questions and discussions

12:30–14:00 PM Lunch.

Session 3 : vibration and environment of the collection

14:00–14:30 PM
Active control as a solution to vibration attenuation,
Keynote : Henri BOUTIN, Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique (Ircam) / Sorbonne Université (France).

14:30–14:50 PM
Assessing the vibration sensitivity of naturalized pinned insects and establishing safety limits,
Marion BILLOT, Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Genève (Switzerland).

14:50–15:10 PM
Experimental evaluation of the vibration behaviour of museum collections using an electrodynamic exciter,
Alexis DRON, , Acoustique Vibrations Logiciel Scientifique (AVLS), Orsay (France).

15:10–15:30 PM
Questions and discussions

15:30–15:50 PM Break.

15:50–16:10 PM
Modelling, monitoring and mitigation: investigating the impact of structure-borne vibration on canvas paintings,
Jorge G. GARCIA, University of Oxford (United Kingdom).

16:10–16:30 PM
Vibration analysis for paintings in museums and the causes of vibrations due to mechanical loads,
Eva HARTLIEB, University of Stuttgart (Germany).

16 :50–17:20 PM
Flash talks
Hélène BOUDIN, musée d’Archéologie nationale – Domaine de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France).
Hélène Huysseune, responsable du laboratoire de conservation-restauration, Musée d'Archéologie nationale - Domaine national de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Amandine HÉLÈNE, conservatrice-restauratrice indépendante (France).
Aimée SIMS, Heritage and Collections Conservation manager, The Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, London (United Kingdom).
Claire GUERIN, independent restorer (France) and Marina BIRON, independent restorer (France)

Questions and discussions

November the 8^th / Workshops

Workshops will be organized according to the problems encountered by heritage professionals.

Requirements for the participants

• Install on their smartphone (Android or iOS system) the PhyPhox app. This app is free.
• Bring their own computer, on which they will also install Phyphox.

Workshops

1. Vibration measurement

During this workshop, participants will measure vibrations on a support, using a smartphone. These vibrations will be generated by an impact on the floor, or by a continuous source.
The workshop will be divided into three parts: the theoretical principle of vibration measurement, measurement by the participants, and discussion of the results and practical cases.

2. Acoustical measurements

In this workshop, participants will measure the sound near an object, using a smartphone. The sound will be generated by a Bluetooth loudspeaker.
The workshop will be divided into three parts: the theoretical principle of sound measurement, measurements by the participants, and discussion of the results and practical cases.

3. Vibration attenuation

Using two sensors, participants will measure the vibrations inside and outside a transport crate equipped with various packaging materials. A crate and a trolley will be provided for the experiment.
The workshop will be divided into three parts: the theoretical principle of vibration measurement, measurements by the participants, and discussion of the results and practical cases.
For this workshop participants can come with their solution, to evaluate the attenuation properties. The measurements will be done using commercial sensors.

4. Signal analysis

This workshop is dedicated to the understanding of the recorded signals and their handling, using free software.

5. Foam properties – new materials

This workshop is proposed to evaluate the foam requirement with the vibrational attenuation point of view. The participants will be asked to come with their foam reference to learn how to evaluate the right properties for storage or transport.

Scientific Commitee

C. BIRO, musées Beauvoisine,
H. BOUTIN and F. OLLIVIER, Sorbonne Université,
C. DIDELOT, musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris,
E. KISSEL and F. SAUVAGNARGUES, musée du quai Branly – Jacques-Chirac,
S. LE CONTE &and É. MAUME, Institut national du patrimoine,
J. LE ROUX and S. ISAKOVITCH, musée du Louvre,
N. WILKIE-CHANCELLIER, Cergy Paris Université.