Cure kinetics of epoxy-amine resins used in the restoration of works of art from glass or ceramic

The cure kinetics of two epoxy/amine resins, Araldite 2020 and AY103-HY956 widely used as adhesives in the restoration of works of art from glass or ceramic was investigated using FTIR spectroscopy. These resins are two-part adhesives, consisting of a resin - A, based on a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, and a hardener - B which is either a cycloaliphatic amine (isophorone diamine) for Araldite 2020, or a mixture of three aliphatic amines in HY956. The study was based on the collection of IR spectra, in the middle range (4000-600 cm⁻¹), of mixtures of resin and hardener at different proportions and isothermal temperatures (22-70 °C) as a function of curing time. A kinetic model was employed to simulate the experimental data using two kinetic rate constants. Diffusion control was incorporated to describe the cure behaviour at high degrees of conversion. From fitting to experimental data the kinetic and diffusional parameters were estimated, together with the activation energies of the kinetic and autocatalytic rate constants. It was found that higher degrees of curing are obtained at higher temperatures and increased amounts of hardener. Differences in the performance of the two adhesives are explained based on the type of the amines used as hardener.     

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the analytical study of works of art for purposes of diagnosis and conservation

This paper is a study of the analytical capacity of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for any type of samples from works of art. The analytical information obtained with this technique on organic and inorganic compounds is extremely useful in the preliminary studies necessary for diagnosis and to decide on the conservation process. This paper reports the analysis and study with FT-IR on samples extracted from the microlayers in several works of art from different periods (16th to 18th century) comprising wall paintings and canvas. The most outstanding of these being the frescoes by A. Palomino from two ceilings in the Santos Juanes church. The analytical procedures for the different components of the works studied such as

1. (a) varnish applied to wood panels and canvas paintings,

2. (b) binding media and pigments used by the artists,

3. (c) inerts, mortars, stuccos and grounds have been optimized. The FT-IR technique offers a quick analysis of microsamples (less than 0.5 mg) and is able to characterise the different molecular groups which provide information on the nature of the different materials of organic and inorganic origin used by the artist and thus permits the diagnosis of pathologies requiring conservation treatment.

ON THE CULTIVATION OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJORING MECHANICS BASED ON THE IDEA OF UNIVERSITY

21世纪信息技术、微纳米技术和生物技术等新兴领域的高速发展给力学专业的人才培养带来了机遇与挑战。本文简单介绍了高等教育的基本理念与发展及其在中国的演变。通过分析现阶段社会发展的需求和力学发展的趋势,阐述了力学本科的培养目标应该是具有宽广的人文素养和深厚的专业知识的创新型人才。本文结合上海大学二十余年来理论与应用力学本科人才培养的实际情况,对实现这一目标提出了几点参考建议。     

无机化学教学的内容组织艺术

结合具体教学案例,提出了无机化学内容组织艺术的实施原则：注重微观与宏观的结合;注重知识与方法的结合;注重思想方法与科学精神的结合。     

Contemporary artists and colour: Meaning, organisation and understanding

What implications do the ranges of traditional and non-traditional media used by contemporary artists have for understanding the selection and specification of coloured materials? Interviews with prominent artists explore their use of colour and their views on the role of colour in their work. The paper establishes that the interview respondents operate successfully within a professional and permeable frame of reference, with different approaches to determination of colour meaning. The colour propositions of neuroscience, psychophysics and anthropological linguistics appear to have little impact on the respondents’ practice, and the paper concludes by suggesting the need to explore boundaries between disciplines.     

Current state of the art of algorithms and computer software for geometric programming

This paper attempts to consolidate over 15 years of attempts at designing algorithms for geometric programming (GP) and its extensions. The pitfalls encountered when solving GP problems and some proposed remedies are discussed in detail. A comprehensive summary of published software for the solution of GP problems is included. Also included is a numerical comparison of some of the more promising recently developed computer codes for geometric programming on a specially chosen set of GP test problems. The relative performance of these codes is measured in terms of their robustness as well as speed of computation. The performance of some general nonlinear programming (NLP) codes on the same set of test problems is also given and compared with the results for the GP codes. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future research.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the ORSA/TIMS Conference, Chicago, 1975.This work was supported in part by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A-3552, Canada Council Grant No. S74-0418, and a research grant from the School of Organization and Management, Yale University. The author wishes to thank D. Himmelblau, T. Jefferson, M. Rijckaert, X. M. Martens, A. Templeman, J. J. Dinkel, G. Kochenberger, M. Ratner, L. Lasdon, and A. Jain for their cooperation in making the comparative study possible.     

Liquid crystals,fractals and art

We discuss the aesthetic appeal of liquid crystal textures and take a brief polarising microscopic tour through the wealth of the appearances of nematic, cholesteric, smectic and banana phases. Some examples are given on how these textures may be used in a creative process employing digital image processing to produce ‘computer art’, including images exhibiting self-similarity. A discussion of the ‘art’ of computer-generated mathematical fractals leads us to examples of fractal structures observed in the phase-ordering process of some liquid crystalline phases. This includes a first brief report of dilatation invariance observed for aggregates of a conventional SmC phase and percolation simulations to quantitatively explain the obtained textures. The circle between liquid crystals, fractals and arts is closed by a discussion of self-similarity in modern arts, especially works of the movement known as abstract expressionism. More than 100 paintings of the artists Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, Mark Tobey and Franz Kline were analysed, placing an emphasis of the discussion on the ‘drip-paintings’ of Pollock in relation to recent reports.     

Raman spectroscopy of synthetic organic pigments used in 20th century works of art

Raman microscopy allows a non‐destructive characterisation of inorganic and organic painting materials such as pigments and organic dyestuffs. The objectives of this study are the more recent organic pigments typically present in paintings and other art works from the 20th century. More than 20 organic synthetic pigments from different chemical classes could be identified by Raman spectroscopy using different excitation wavelengths (457.9, 476.5, 487.9, 514.5, 632.8, and 1064 nm). To evaluate the performance for real paint samples, varying paint mixtures of the Hansa Yellow pigment PY 3 and the binding medium Mowilith, a polyvinyl acetate (PVAC) compound, were characterised; PY 3 was determined at a 1 wt% level in the binder. In addition, commercial tube paints containing the quinacridone violet PV 19 were studied. The pigment was clearly identified in all of these more complex oil and acrylic paints. Finally, alizarin (PR 83) and a green copper phthalocyanine pigment (PG 7) could unambiguously be identified by Raman microscopy in the painting ‘Woman with mandolin in yellow and red’ of Max Beckmann dating 1950. The discovery of a red naphthol AS pigment by Raman spectroscopy in a sample from the ‘Three field workers’ by Georg Baselitz (1964/1965) demonstrated that in some cases complementary chromatographic methods are needed for a comprehensive identification of the organic pigments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raman spectroscopic study of medieval Indian art of 17th century

We report the first Raman spectroscopic investigations of medieval Indian art of 17th century. Three miniature paintings, belonging to Mogul and Rajput schools from the collections of the Madras Museum, were investigated by micro‐Raman spectroscopy using different excitation wavelengths. Many areas in the paintings exhibited rich spectra containing several intense Raman bands. The Raman bands were assigned on the basis of the reported reference spectra of the pigments. Evidences for the presence of massicot, red‐lead, lead‐white, vermilion, litharge, Indian yellow and anatase are found. In addition, tentative assignments of some of the Raman bands to atacamite and orpiment are also made. The present studies suggest that several mineral‐based unique pigments were popular among the Indian artists of this period. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.