Ferreira, Morena Nunes Mira;
(2023)
The use of air movement to mitigate mould growth in indoor heritage.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
![]() |
Text
Morena Ferreira_PhD thesis.pdf - Submitted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 October 2025. Download (11MB) |
Abstract
Mould development affects collections of different natures. The main preventive strategies used focus on environmental control, which is costly and energy intensive. These are also difficult to apply in microclimates that form in areas of difficult access and where mould commonly develops. This thesis aimed to investigate the use of air movement as a measure to prevent mould development in microclimates. The focus was bookshelves in National Trust libraries. This project highlighted the widespread challenges of dealing with mould in heritage collections and the importance of developing more efficient preventive conservation strategies. It was found that mould affects the collections in many historic libraries of the National Trust and that conservators face significant challenges in dealing with mould issues, including considerable time pressure. For example, a mould outbreak requires an average of 39.79 days of work by one person. This thesis brings a further understanding of the presence of air movement in microclimates, such as the small spaces behind books on historic bookshelves. Laboratory experiments allowed the developing of a methodology to measure air movement in these microclimates. Furthermore, this study found that ventilation gaps can be used to control air movement within bookshelves. Also, it is possible that installing gaps on alternate shelves is enough. Finally, the impact of air movement on the hyphal growth of Aspergillus versicolor and Penicillium brevicompactum was assessed under ideal growth conditions. Results suggest that, in isolation, air movement might not affect the early stage of mould development. However, results also show that more research is needed to test the impact of air movement, which includes testing growth under environmental conditions (relative humidity and temperature) present in historic houses. This project was carried out in collaboration with the National Trust, where mould is an issue faced by many historic properties.
Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
---|---|
Qualification: | Ph.D |
Title: | The use of air movement to mitigate mould growth in indoor heritage |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10177569 |
Archive Staff Only
![]() |
View Item |