The creep performance of bio-based and synthetic lining adhesives at different environmental conditions

Canvas paintings are prone to environmental ageing. Hence, the structural conservation of canvas paintings may require lining, a process in which a secondary canvas is adhered to the reverse of the damaged original canvas to provide additional support. Choosing the optimum adhesive in combination with a lining method is crucial and yet challenging, as they should preferably be mechanically and chemically stable and reversible for at least 100 years. Comprehensive data on thermal and long term mechanical behaviour of prevalently used adhesives and their bonded assemblies to canvas is scarce and yet necessary to enable conservators for a proper choice of the materials in terms of durability. In this study, four prevalently used adhesives in the conservation of canvas paintings are investigated and their creep performance is evaluated and benchmarked at three different temperatures and environmental relative humidities (RHs). These adhesives are either bio-based (animal glue-starch paste and beeswax-dammar resin mixtures), or synthetic (BEVA® 371 and an aqueous Plextol™ D540/K360 dispersion mixture). Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) technique is used to study the thermal transitions at different RHs. T-peel and lap shear tests are performed to determine the fracture behaviour and shear strength respectively. An in-house built creep set-up equipped with environmental control is developed which allows investigation of the mechanical creep for different canvas bonded assemblies. The results demonstrate the effects of temperature and relative humidity on the creep behaviour of lined canvases, which are related to their physical response. Moreover, the animal glue-starch paste shows the best creep mechanical performance for this application, while the Plextol^TM acrylic dispersion mixture in combination with Mist-Lining is a better alternative when both environment and reversibility are considered.