Non-Invasive Moisture Detection for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Pier Barone,Carlotta Ferrara

doi:10.3390/heritage1010011

Pier Barone, Carlotta Ferrara

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage1010011

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Journal: Heritage	Publication Date: Aug 10, 2018
Citations: 9	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: American University of Rome

Abstract

Moisture damage is the most critical issue regarding the preservation and integrity of cultural heritage sites. The electromagnetic (EM) sensitivity to the presence of moisture, in both soils and structural materials, is a well-known phenomenon. Thereby, studying the EM response to the presence of moisture, in order to prevent the damages done to sites of cultural heritage, is a well-established method. This paper will discuss the ability of a geophysical non-destructive technique (NDT), present in a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system, to investigate a very precious building in Rome that is affected by a moisture problem (the Turkish Room at Villa Medici). This geophysical instrument is able to locate and estimate the extent of water ingression, which can aid in the development of restoration plans before permanent damage occurs. The main objective of this paper is to help restorers understand the related hazards, due to the presence of moisture in the wall structures, in real-time and to rapidly and non-invasively develop strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage sites.

Highlights

Moisture detection is one of the most relevant issues within Hydrogeophysics
The results highlighted in this paper demonstrate the ability of an non-destructive technique (NDT), such as the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), to
The results highlighted in this paper demonstrate the ability of an NDT, such as the GPR, to locate locate and estimate the extent of water ingression in order to develop restoration plans at the same and the extent of waterbefore ingression in order to develop plans at the same time timeestimate of the GPR

Summary

Introduction

Radar (GPR), in particular, can accurately assess the level of moisture in the subsoil This type of geophysical non-destructive technique (NDT) can be used to accurately determine the moisture content below the earth’s surface [1]. This electromagnetic (EM) technique can be used to estimate material parameters and to obtain valuable information about the presence of moisture in an investigated medium. This novel approach toward data analysis uses the acquired amplitude attribute information of the GPR signal with a standard, common-offset, and ground-coupled antenna configuration [2,3].

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