Use of Polysiloxane Coatings to Fight Against Biodamages of Wooden Architecture Monuments

Abstract

This study presents the results of a search for ways to prevent biodestructive processes, occurring in the natural environment of wooden architecture monuments localization. On the Sviyazhsk island since the 16th century an unique site of wooden architecture of the Volga region has been preserved. It is the Trinity Church, the only building, although rebuilt over the centuries, that has survived from the wooden medieval island-town. Climate changes, cultural tourism and living organisms activities make a significant contribution to the change in the initial state of the tree. The greatest contribution to the processes of biodamage is made by mold fungi – micromycetes. Experimental work carried out on a fragmentary sample of a structural element of the Trinity Church revealed that coating the surface of the sample with a synthetic varnish based on a mixture of linear and cyclic methylmethoxypolysiloxanes prevents the growth of microscopic fungi on the surface, among which Aspergillus niger dominates. The growth area of the sample is reduced by about 6 times compared to the untreated variant. By artificial infection of samples with spores of Aspergillus niger, Penicillus chrysogenum, Fusarium graminearum and Aspergillus puulaauensis, the growth area of varnished samples also decreases by 7 times, and the number of conidiophores, reflecting the growth of micromycetes, by 4 times. The obtained results make it possible to recommend the use of polysiloxane coatings for the protection of especially important fragments of wooden artifacts.