Service: 3D acoustic tomography of sculptures
Platforms
Fixlab
Molab
Techniques
Acoustic (ultrasound) tomography
Organization
Service contact persons
Reference
3D acoustic tomography is a non-destructive technique that allows imaging the internal structure of an object by probing the variations of its mechanical properties. Its application in cultural heritage is primarily dedicated to assessing the internal cohesion of marble sculptures. Doing so, it may inform on the condition of the marble, the presence of weakened areas, and the quality of consolidation operations.
To do so, a complete 3D model is acquired and travel-time auscultation is performed to quantify the variations of the apparent propagation velocity of longitudinal waves inside the sculptures. These measurements are then reported on the 3D photogrammetric model, and the local propagation velocities of all voxels are reconstructed from an inversion method. This technique has been developped for the study of marble sculptures but could be applied to any type of stone. It can be implemented at the CICRP (Fixlab) or on-site (Molab).
The only limitations may arise from extreme curvatures and/or superficial rugosity of the considered sculpture.
Fields of application
Archaeological conservation
Archaeometry
Heritage science (cultural heritage discipline)
Materials science
Materials
Carrara marble
Marble
Limestone
Methods
Tools