Testing the Effectiveness of Selected Flame Retardants for Archival Cardboard Using a Medium-Scale Fire Test
-
Martina Nováková
,
Michal Ďurovič
,
Jan Karl
and
Václav Vystrčil
Abstract
Depositories of cultural institutions contain written historical documents protected by enclosures against mechanical damage, solid pollutants, the effects of light, and fluctuations in temperature and/or humidity. A potentially suitable additive flame retardant has been developed for archival cardboards to reduce the loss of valuable documents during possible fires in depositories without fixed extinguishing equipment. Archival boxes made of solid cardboard were treated with two selected additive flame retardants: a mixture of natural bentonite and mica in a cellulose ether solution and an aqueous sodium silicate solution. Subsequently a medium-scale fire test was performed on treated and untreated box samples placed in archival shelves. The test conditions simulated a fire in a relatively large depository where the oxidizing agent is present for a long time and the combustion products can leave the area. The approximate time to ignition, the decrease in mass, and the increase in temperature in various parts of the shelves were measured. The flame spreading rate was recorded and the final condition of the archival boxes and their contents was evaluated. The mixed flame retardant delayed ignition, slowed the combustion, and protected most of the archival boxes against burning; moreover, prior examination did not exhibit a substantial detrimental effect on the cardboard properties.
Zusammenfassung
In den Depots von Kultureinrichtungen befinden sich schriftliche historische Dokumente, die meist durch Archivboxen gegen mechanische Beschädigungen, Staub, Lichteinwirkung und Temperatur-und/oder Feuchtigkeitsschwankungen geschützt sind. Für diese Archivboxen wurden potenziell geeignete Flammschutzmittel entwickelt, um den Verlust wertvoller Dokumente bei Bränden in Depots ohne fest installierte Löschanlagen zu verringern. Archivboxen aus Vollpappe wurden mit zwei ausgewählten Flammschutzmitteln behandelt: einer Mischung aus natürlichem Bentonit und Glimmer in einer Celluloseether-Lösung und einer wässrigen Natriumsilikatlösung. Anschlieβend wurde ein mittelgroβer Brandversuch an behandelten und unbehandelten Boxen durchgeführt, die in Archivregalen aufgestellt waren. Die Testbedingungen simulierten einen Brand in einem relativ groβen Depot, in dem Sauerstoff lange Zeit vorhanden ist und die Verbrennungsprodukte sich verflüchtigen können. Gemessen wurden die durchschnittliche Zeit bis zur Entzündung, die Abnahme der Masse der Boxen und der Temperaturanstieg in verschiedenen Teilen der Regale. Die Flammenausbreitungsrate wurde aufgezeichnet und der Endzustand der Archivboxen und ihres Inhalts bewertet. Die Mischung aus Bentonit und Glimmer verzögerte die Entzündung, verlangsamte die Verbrennung und schützte die meisten Archivboxen vor dem Verbrennen, wobei in einer vorangegangenen Untersuchung keine wesentlichen nachteiligen Auswirkungen der Flammschutzmittel auf die Eigenschaften der Archivboxen festgestellt werden konnten.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the companies EMBA, spol. s r.o. and BYK-Chemie GmbH and also the National Archives. The project Advanced Materials for Protection of Archival Records from Fire (identification code: VB02000064) was supported by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic from the Security Research Program of the Czech Republic 2021–2026: Development, Testing and Evaluation of New Security Technologies.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Works
- Preserving the Scientific Legacy: An Integrated Pest Management Approach from a Heritage Astronomy Library
- Testing the Effectiveness of Selected Flame Retardants for Archival Cardboard Using a Medium-Scale Fire Test
- Conservation Strategies for Palm-Leaf Manuscripts from Yunnan, China
- Traditional Ways of Caring for Historical Manuscripts in Lombok (Indonesia)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Works
- Preserving the Scientific Legacy: An Integrated Pest Management Approach from a Heritage Astronomy Library
- Testing the Effectiveness of Selected Flame Retardants for Archival Cardboard Using a Medium-Scale Fire Test
- Conservation Strategies for Palm-Leaf Manuscripts from Yunnan, China
- Traditional Ways of Caring for Historical Manuscripts in Lombok (Indonesia)
