The Influence of Animal Glue on Mechanical Properties of Painting Canvases
Glues derived from animal products have been used in the preparation and conservation of painting canvas for hundreds of years. However, it is not clear how exactly these adhesives contribute to the mechanical strength of a canvas and how this contribution changes with time. This comparative study looks at the effect of age, thickness, and type of animal glue on the mechanical reinforcement the glues provide to canvas. Isinglass, rabbit skin, bovine hide and bone glue are compared. The mechanical strength of the canvas and glue system have been measured with a tensile test. The influence of glue on the tensile response of canvas has been observed in the slope of the initial region of the stress-strain curve for these samples. This region has been identified as the initial load-bearing region which corresponds to the glue coating. The major contributing factor to change mechanical reinforcement of canvas is found to be the degradation of the glue, however the type of glue used plays a small role as does the thickness of the glue applied.
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Posted 28 May, 2020
The Influence of Animal Glue on Mechanical Properties of Painting Canvases
Posted 28 May, 2020
Glues derived from animal products have been used in the preparation and conservation of painting canvas for hundreds of years. However, it is not clear how exactly these adhesives contribute to the mechanical strength of a canvas and how this contribution changes with time. This comparative study looks at the effect of age, thickness, and type of animal glue on the mechanical reinforcement the glues provide to canvas. Isinglass, rabbit skin, bovine hide and bone glue are compared. The mechanical strength of the canvas and glue system have been measured with a tensile test. The influence of glue on the tensile response of canvas has been observed in the slope of the initial region of the stress-strain curve for these samples. This region has been identified as the initial load-bearing region which corresponds to the glue coating. The major contributing factor to change mechanical reinforcement of canvas is found to be the degradation of the glue, however the type of glue used plays a small role as does the thickness of the glue applied.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6