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How to predict the future of paper through extreme environments? The secret of accelerated aging testing!
In today's preservation science, scholars continue to explore how to effectively predict the future of paper to extend its service life. Accelerated aging testing has become a key technology to quickly understand the long-term stability of materials by simulating extreme conditions in a controlled environment.
Accelerated aging is the use of deteriorating conditions such as high temperature, high humidity, oxygen, sunlight and vibration to accelerate the natural aging process of items.
This technology has a wide range of applications, not just limited to paper, but also includes new car engines, polymers and other new materials. Through these tests, researchers are able to assess the effective life of a product in a short period of time. For example, some mechanical components are tested at speeds beyond normal use to see how durable they are. Or, polymeric materials may be stored at higher than normal temperatures to promote chemical degradation.
Accelerated aging test of paper in extreme environments
The use of accelerated aging testing is particularly important in library and archival preservation science. These tests, which focus on paper, typically use high temperatures and other deterioration factors to simulate the natural aging process.
The purposes of these tests include predicting the effects of specific preservation treatments on paper over the long term, as well as studying the fundamental processes of paper degradation.
For example, researchers will compare treated and untreated paper under the same environmental conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of preservation treatments. In addition, in some tests, paper samples are tested at a range of different high temperatures and stable relative humidity to measure related quality indicators such as their folding durability. Through this data, researchers can infer the wear rate and life expectancy of paper under normal environmental conditions.
History of Accelerated Aging Testing
As early as 1899, W. Herzberg first described the technology of artificially accelerated aging using heat. In the 1920s, the technique was further refined, resulting in a set of standards that used sunlight and high-temperature tests to judge the permanence of different papers.
In 1929, test specifications established by R. H. Rasch stated that 72 hours of accelerated aging at 100 degrees Celsius is equivalent to 18 to 25 years of natural aging.
However, as research deepens, scholars have begun to question some traditional accelerated aging testing methods, especially those that rely on dry heat and a single temperature. Many studies indicate that relative humidity has an important influence on the chemical processes that cause paper to degrade. This has led some scientists to support technical solutions that use the Arrhenius equation and more realistic relative humidity for accelerated aging.
Criticisms and Challenges
Although accelerated aging testing is widely used, questions remain about the effectiveness and accuracy of this type of testing.
Many researchers believe that these tests cannot accurately predict the exact lifespan of paper, but can only rank the paper's permanence.
In addition, the researchers also criticized the inconsistent assessment criteria for paper degradation during the trial and the lack of clear points to define the usability of paper. Different chemical processes will produce significantly different reactions at high and low temperatures, which also results in accelerated aging not fully corresponding to the natural aging process. In order to improve the quality of accelerated aging tests, some researchers have begun to compare materials that have undergone accelerated aging with natural aging. For example, the Library of Congress has conducted a series of experiments since 2000 to compare materials that have artificially accelerated aging with materials that have aged naturally for a hundred years.
These accelerated aging tests undoubtedly provide important data support for paper preservation, but can we really accurately predict the future state of paper and how to extend its life?
