Surface orange patinas on the limestone of the Batalha Monastery (Portugal): characterization and decay patterns

Samples of orange patinas found on a limestone window tracery and an ornament of the Batalha Monastery have been investigated by X-ray micro-diffractometry (μ-XRD) and low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (LV-SEM + EDS). The aim of the study was to determine the composition of the layered patinas, assess whether they have been intentionally applied or naturally formed, and study their degradation patterns. Preliminary results revealed that the orange patinas on the window tracery and the ornament showed different compositions and appearance, suggesting distinct formation pathways. Orange patinas on the ornament, which are now showing decay and delamination patterns, mainly consisted of gypsum with hematite as a minor component, implying the possibility of an intentional application of a mixture of ochre and lime as tint plaster. Orange patinas on the window tracery show, instead, the presence of Ca-oxalates, abundant weddellite, and minor whewellite, with minor hematite suggesting the yellowish/orange color as being due to Ca-oxalate patinas imbedding soil dust airborne particles. Such patina was possibly formed naturally either by the chemical attack due to atmospheric air pollutants from traffic exhausts emissions or by bacterial activity. No delamination was observed on the window tracery sample with granular decohesion as the major decay phenomenon. A comparison was made between this patina and the so-called scialbatura, a surface yellowish coating often found by conservators on limestone and marble in ancient monuments in the Mediterranean region.European Commission , H2020-MSCA-ITN-EJD ED-ARCHMAT, GA 76631

A combined petrographic and geochemical metrological approach to assess the provenance of the building limestone used in the Batalha Monastery (Portugal)

To verify the provenances of limestones that were used for construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery, limestone quarries in central Portugal were investigated. Samples were collected from quarries and monastery in field investigation. The elements-alignment of calcium and strontium based on XRF result has suggested the source of fragments from different parts the monastery. Observation of the thin sections has supplemented petrographic evidence for this identification. XRD, TGA were also used for acquiring mineral information and chemical composition of the stones. This origin tracing result supplies foundation for further research of stone decay and reservation of the Batalha Monastery

Provenance study of the limestone used in the construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery (Portugal)

To assess the provenance of the limestones used in the construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery in central Portugal, stone samples collected from the monument and from five limestone quarries in the region surrounding the building were investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF), powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Ca-Sr binary diagrams from the ED-XRF result indicated the source of the samples collected from different parts of the monastery. Thin-section observation supplemented the petrographic evidence for this identification. PXRD and TGA were also used to acquire information on the mineral and chemical composition of the stones. Preliminary results suggest that the monastery baluster was made of stone from the Valinho do Rei or Reguengo do Fetal quarries, whereas part of the church railing, the north-aisle eaves arch and Royal Cloister were made with stone from the Pidiogo or Cabeço do Roxo quarries

Provenance study of the limestone used in the construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery (Portugal)

To assess the provenance of the limestones used in the construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery in central Portugal, stone samples collected from the monument and from five limestone quarries in the region surrounding the building were investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF), powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Ca-Sr binary diagrams from the ED-XRF result indicated the source of the samples collected from different parts of the monastery. Thin-section observation supplemented the petrographic evidence for this identification. PXRD and TGA were also used to acquire information on the mineral and chemical composition of the stones. Preliminary results suggest that the monastery baluster was made of stone from the Valinho do Rei or Reguengo do Fetal quarries, whereas part of the church railing, the north-aisle eaves arch and Royal Cloister were made with stone from the Pidiogo or Cabeço do Roxo quarries.The research presented in this paper was carried out mainly using data collected at Universidade de Évora, Politecnico di Torino and Direcao-Geral do Patrimonio Cultural, as part of H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017, ED-ARCHMAT (ESR1). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 766311

Hardware/Software Solution for the Automation and Real-Time Control of a Wine Bottling Production Line

Factory automation requires smart solutions, especially when a set of equipment, from different vendors, has to be interfaced to enable fast and flexible production. In this paper, a hardware /software (hw/sw) modeling approach and its implementation, in the electronic system, Fill, for the automation and real-time control of a wine bottling production line, is presented. Fill is a sub-system of an intelligent production line. Object Oriented concept is used for system modeling and development. The key novelty of the implementation approach is the use of the bottle, as an active object, for synchronizing the production line. A prototype of Fill has been implemented in an industrial environment, in the northern part of Portugal, boosting productivity. If the market makes it cost-effective, the hw/sw solution can be easily integrated and installed in other production lines and companies

Assessment and monitoring the environment of cultural property (AMECP Project)

Damage to cultural property in museums, libraries and historic buildings is caused by environmental pollution. Up to now environmental control for indoor cultural property was not a routine method due to high costs and the highly sophisticated equipment needed for the examination of environments. Therefore within this Europian Commission funded project it was the aim to develop a glass based sensor to facilitate the assessment of environments. The quantitative and qualitative characterisation of various environments (pollution profiles of SO2, NO2, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and organic acids parallel to temperature and humidity recording) in Northern, Southern and Central Europe provided the necessary background for the glass sensor development and resulted in a complementary picture of the distribution of environmental pollution in these parts of Europe. The results from the assessment and monitoring programme of the three different locations (Germany, Portugal and Grea t Britain) each with five sites demonstrate clearly the high potential of the glass sensor method to evaluate different environments. The easy to handle method is suitable to act as an early warning device for highly corrosive environments enabling minimalisation of interactive conservation work which will have significant cost savings

Realistic Delay Modeling in Satisfiability-Based Timing Analysis

Circuit delay computation taking into account the existence of false paths represents a significant and computationally complex problem. Existing research work has focused mainly on path sensitization models and algorithms, and on gate and interconnect delay models. Nevertheless, work in these two main areas has evolved separately, and so most path sensitization models and algorithms assume very rudimentary gate and interconnect delay models. In this paper we propose a modeling framework for circuit delay computation as a sequence of instances of propositional satisfiability. This framework is used to capture several path sensitization models under the unit delay model. Moreover, several algorithms for propositional satisfiability are evaluated seeking to illustrate the computational challenges posed by the circuit delay computation problem. Finally, realistic delay models taking into account extracted interconnect delays and fanou

Timing Analysis Using Propositional Satisfiability

The existence of false paths represents a significan