Application of electrochemical techniques to the study of corrosion of bells of the 19^th century

Abstract:

The Mexican Cathedral of Cuernavaca is an historic monument, built in the XVI (16th) century and it is one of the first monuments ever built by the Spanish in the American Continent. The tower lodges eight bells. Three of these bells are studied in this work. Two of them date back to the XIX (19 th) century and show what appears to be corrosion fatigue attack failure over the surface. The third bell belongs to the same period and was used as reference since it is not broken. This work presents the first results obtained in a research project concerning failure analysis and restoration of the bell. Material evaluation and characterization were undertaken using metallurgical, X-ray analysis and electrochemical methods, namely electrochemical impedance and noise. Also, bronze casting was performed and electrochemical measurements were obtained in a solution of sodium borate and compared with results obtained on the bell surface itself. A possible explanation of the failure, as well as possible future work is discussed. © 2006 by NACE International.

Año de publicación:

2006

Keywords:

• Bronze
• Cultural heritage
• Atmospheric corrosion
• Historic bells

Fuente:

scopus