No / X-Radiography is widely used in the investigation of works of art and other culturally significant artefacts to reveal and record details of their construction, modification and state of preservation. Radiography is considered to be a non-destructive technique but its increasing use in the study of historic textiles has prompted the testing of this assumption as X-rays and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as light and micro-waves, cause changes in materials which may be detrimental to their physical stability. An experiment was undertaken to test the safety ofradiography for the imaging of silk fabrics as these are particularly susceptible to photodegradation. The results from a series of radiographic exposures of modern and historic fabrics show that excessive exposure to low energy X-rays produced no detectable changes in their mechanical integrity. This indicates that the customary levels of radiographic exposure used in imaging will not be detrimental to textiles.

Environmental savings can be made by increasing the use of aluminium alloys in the automotive industry as the vehicles can be made lighter. Increasing the knowledge about the heat treatment process is one task in the direction towards this goal. The aim of this work is to investigate and model the heat treatment process for Al-Si casting alloys. Three alloys containing Mg and/or Cu were cast using the gradient solidification technique to achieve three different coarsenesses of the microstructure and a low amount of defects. Solution treatment was studied by measuring the concentration of Mg, Cu and Si in the α-Al matrix using wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) after various times at a solution treatment temperature. A diffusion based model was developed which estimates the time needed to obtain a high and homogenous concentration of alloying elements for different alloys, temperatures and coarsenesses of the microstructure. It was shown that the yield strength after artificial ageing is weakly dependent on the coarseness of the microstructure when the solution treatment time is adjusted to achieve complete dissolution and homogenisation. The shape and position of ageing curves (yield strength versus ageing time) was investigated empirically in this work and by studying the literature in order to differentiate the mechanisms involved. A diffusion based model for prediction of the yield strength after different ageing times was developed for Al-Si-Mg alloys. The model was validated using data available in the literature. For Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys further studies regarding the mechanisms involved need to be performed. Changes in the microstructure during a heat treatment process influence the plastic deformation behaviour. The Hollomon equation describes the plastic deformation of alloys containing shearable precipitates well, while the Ludwigson equation is needed when a supersaturated solid solution is present. When non-coherent precipitates are present, none of the equations describe the plastic deformation well. The evolution of the storage rate and recovery rate of dislocations was studied and coupled to the evolution of the microstructure using the Kocks-Mecking strain hardening theory.

Ce travail de thèse consiste en l’élaboration d’une méthodologie d’étude de monuments historiques, appliquée au château de Chambord. Il s’agit de mettre en place le carnet de santé de l’édifice, et de le compléter par une expérimentation en laboratoire, afin de réaliser un diagnostic d’altération.Les archives historiques concernant le château ont été rassemblées et analysées pour concevoir des cartographies de dates de pose et de nature des pierres. L’examen in situ des façades a ensuite conduit à réaliser des cartographies d’altération. La synthèse des informations concernant le passé et le présent du monument a permis d’établir une liste des principaux facteurs environnementaux associés aux altérations, de même que la chronologie de leur développement, pour ainsi aboutir à une première estimation des cinétiques de progression.C’est la desquamation en plaques, détérioration courante du tuffeau, à la fois la plus dommageable et la plus complexe, qui a été ciblée pour le diagnostic d’altération. Les analyses physico-chimiques réalisées sur des prélèvements in situ ont conduit à l’identification systématique du gypse dans les fissures des desquamations. Des simulations expérimentales ont été mises en place pour appréhender le rôle du gypse, son mode de transport et son origine. La pollution atmosphérique mettant en oeuvre du SO2 gazeux reproduit bien la distribution du gypse telle que mesurée dans les desquamations en plaques observées au château de Chambord. Un mécanisme incluant ce phénomène a été proposé, pour expliquer le développement de cette altération, et qui pourrait être à la base des prévisions de l’évolution des altérations, afin d’envisager le futur du monument. / This thesis is dedicated to the establishment of a methodology to study the built cultural heritage, applied to the castle of Chambord. It consists in realizing the health record of the monument, and completing it by an experimental sequence in laboratory, in order to provide a diagnosis of the state of degradation.Historical archives about the castle were gathered and analysed to obtain mappings of dating and nature of stone. By mean of in situ observations, a mapping of degradation has been added. A synthesis of the information concerning the past and the present of the monument allowed establishing a list of the main factors associated to degradations and to a chronology of development of these degradations, so as to estimate their kinetics.Spalling, which is the most damaging and complex usual degradation, has been chosen as case of study for the diagnosis of degradation. The physic-chemical characterisations made on in situ coring lead to systematically found gypsum in spalling’s cracks. Various artificial ageing tests have been performed to enlighten the role of gypsum, its transport mode, and its origin. Atmospheric pollution including gaseous SO2 reproduces well the distribution of gypsum observed in spalling at Chambord. A global mechanism taking into account this phenomenon has been proposed to clarify the development of this degradation.

The demand for flat glass is high and increasing significantly in the building industry as a direct result of architectural requirements for lightness, transparency and natural light. Current architectural trends require glass in curvilinear forms for smooth free-form façades. Two principal challenges arise from this: to cost-effectively produce the desired curvature and; to ensure its safe performance after exposure to ageing. The recent availability of high strength glass provides an opportunity to address the first challenge by developing cold bent glass. Cold bending involves the straining of relatively thin glass components, at ambient temperatures, and is a low energy and cost effective manner of creating curvilinear forms. However, cold bending is not yet widely established as a reliable method. The aim of this thesis is to develop the understanding of cold bent glass during the bending process and to evaluate its post-ageing performance. This thesis, firstly, investigates the mechanical response of monolithic glass plates during the cold bending process. The stability of cold bent glass is investigated experimentally by bending it in double curved anticlastic shapes. A parametric numerical analysis involves different boundary conditions, geometrical plate characteristics and bending parameters. The principal outcome is that a local instability, now termed cold bending distortion, occurs when certain displacement limits are exceeded and could degrade the optical quality of the glass. An evaluation procedure is also formulated to set limits and aid designers/manufacturers to predict the mechanical response and the optical quality of the glass. Cold bent glass is subjected to permanent bending stresses throughout its service life and therefore, its strength degradation after ageing needs to be quantified. Analytical, experimental and numerical investigations are undertaken in this thesis to identify the most effective method for estimating glass strength (evaluation of destructive tests, required number of specimens, statistical analysis methods and sub-critical crack growth). The limited availability of naturally aged toughened glass and the absence of a reliable ageing standard impede the evaluation of its aged performance. Therefore, a parametric experimental investigation of artificial ageing methods on glass is undertaken in this thesis. A procedure for the evaluation of the strength of aged glass is finally, formulated to allow the selection of artificial ageing parameters that correspond to a target level of erosion. The knowledge on artificial ageing and strength prediction acquired above is finally implemented on different types of glass to determine their strength after ageing and assess their safe use in cold bending / load bearing applications. The investigation showed that fully toughened glass has a superior performance to chemically toughened or annealed glass. Overall, the research presented in this thesis demonstrates that high quality cold bent toughened glass can be created when certain applied displacement limits are respected. These can be used as a safe, cost-effective and energy efficient replacement to the more conventional hot bent glass. However, cold bending / load bearing applications in which the stressed glass surface is exposed to ageing, require glass with a relatively high case depth such as fully toughened or bi-tempered glass.