Chemo-mechanical ageing of paper: effect of acidity, moisture and micro-structural features

Chemo-mechanical ageing of paper: effect of acidity, moisture and micro-structural features | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Chemo-mechanical ageing of paper: effect of acidity, moisture and micro-structural features Amir Parsa Sadr, Siavash Maraghechi, Akke S.J. Suiker, Emanuela Bosco This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4021309/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A multi-scale modeling framework is proposed for the prediction of the chemo-mechanical degradation of paper, with the particular aim of uncovering the key factors affecting the degradation process. Paper is represented as a two-dimensional, periodic repetition of a fibrous network unit cell, where the fibers are characterized by a moisture-dependent chemo-hygro-mechanical constitutive behavior. The degradation of paper occurs primarily as a result of the hydrolysis of cellulose, which causes a reduction of the degree of polymerization and a consequent decrease of the effective mechanical properties, ultimately leading to fiber embrittlement and a loss of material integrity. The interplay between the acidity of the paper, the ambient environmental conditions, and its chemo-mechanical degradation behaviour is a complex process. In the model, these interactions are accounted for by determining the coupled temporal evolution of the degree of polymerization, the acidity of the paper, and the moisture content, from which the time-dependent tensile strength of the paper is calculated. The internal stresses developing in the fibrous network under a change in moisture content lead to brittle fiber fracture once they reach the fiber tensile strength. The successive breakage of individual fibers results in damage development in the fibrous network, altering its effective constitutive properties. The temporal evolution of the effective hygro-mechanical properties of the fibrous network is calculated by employing asymptotic homogenization. For obtaining accurate model input, the strength and stiffness properties of individual fibers and the degree of polymerization of paper samples are measured at different ageing times by carrying out dedicated experiments. Subsequently, a series of numerical simulations is performed to analyze the chemo-mechanical degradation process of paper, highlighting the influence of the time-evolving acidity and moisture content. The numerical study further considers the effects of micro-structural features (i.e., the anisotropy of the fibrous network orientation and the fiber longitudinal elastic modulus) on the macroscopic degradation response of paper. The results of this work may help conservators of cultural heritage institutions determining optimal environmental conditions to limit or delay the time-dependent degradation of valuable historical paper artefacts. Cellulose fibrous network asymptotic homogenization ageing of cellulose degree of polymerization micro-tensile experiments rheometry experiments Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 07 Mar, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 07 Mar, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 07 Mar, 2024 First submitted to journal 06 Mar, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4021309","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":277095500,"identity":"d48cb1ff-7fa2-4057-8c99-9a2089f25e35","order_by":0,"name":"Amir Parsa Sadr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Eindhoven University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amir","middleName":"Parsa","lastName":"Sadr","suffix":""},{"id":277095501,"identity":"cdd6a42d-0801-4ca0-a5c5-ea70a0fe183e","order_by":1,"name":"Siavash Maraghechi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Eindhoven University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Siavash","middleName":"","lastName":"Maraghechi","suffix":""},{"id":277095502,"identity":"3b73c763-21e1-43db-975d-770ee5cb8c1c","order_by":2,"name":"Akke S.J. 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Paper is represented as a two-dimensional, periodic repetition of a fibrous network unit cell, where the fibers are characterized by a moisture-dependent chemo-hygro-mechanical constitutive behavior. The degradation of paper occurs primarily as a result of the hydrolysis of cellulose, which causes a reduction of the degree of polymerization and a consequent decrease of the effective mechanical properties, ultimately leading to fiber embrittlement and a loss of material integrity. The interplay between the acidity of the paper, the ambient environmental conditions, and its chemo-mechanical degradation behaviour is a complex process. In the model, these interactions are accounted for by determining the coupled temporal evolution of the degree of polymerization, the acidity of the paper, and the moisture content, from which the time-dependent tensile strength of the paper is calculated. The internal stresses developing in the fibrous network under a change in moisture content lead to brittle fiber fracture once they reach the fiber tensile strength. The successive breakage of individual fibers results in damage development in the fibrous network, altering its effective constitutive properties. The temporal evolution of the effective hygro-mechanical properties of the fibrous network is calculated by employing asymptotic homogenization. For obtaining accurate model input, the strength and stiffness properties of individual fibers and the degree of polymerization of paper samples are measured at different ageing times by carrying out dedicated experiments. Subsequently, a series of numerical simulations is performed to analyze the chemo-mechanical degradation process of paper, highlighting the influence of the time-evolving acidity and moisture content. 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