Application of Discovery Mat to analyse qualitatively aluminium structures exposed outdoor

August 1, 2024

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The Discovery Mat tool is generally used indoors under ideal, reproducible measurement conditions (under cover with a stable environment). Using it to examine the PB1 antenna at Pleumeur-Bodou under its “radôme “ was a first, enabling us to assess the robustness of the tool when placed on scaffolding.

We wanted to repeat the experiment by adding the instability created by an external environment. This work was carried out as part of a BA thesis for a student at the Haute Ecole Arc Conservation-restoration in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Nicolas Jeangros was asked to analyse elements of two structures exhibited outdoors: the Méridienne pavilion at the Observatoire de Paris and the Luna cladding of the Multimedia kiosk in Chalon-sur-Saône (FR).

The materials studied were identified (unalloyed aluminium or aluminium-magnesium alloy) despite difficult conditions: unexpected showers that forced us to hastily protect the measurement zones, maintenance work around the sites by the teams in charge, polluting the measurement zones, and adaptation of our schedule to that of our partners, facilitating our daily access to the sites via equipment made available (scaffolding).

This new experience clearly confirms the robustness of the measurement tool, whatever the operating conditions.