In many countries, collections of ancient aircraft, conserved in Air and Space museums or local associations, reflect the importance of a national or local history. Mostly parked outdoor, aircraft suffer from important corrosion requiring conservation operations. During renovation, metallic parts are often replaced by association members. This can lead to a major loss of information since industrial archives dealing with materials and processes were not necessarily conserved. However, if these elements can be considered, they could be a fundamental source of information on the materials originally used and of the technical history of aeronautics. This work reports a thorough study of aluminium-based alloys parts collected on a Breguet aeroplane dating from the 1950s, during its recent renovation. Thanks to an approach coupling multi-scale material characterisation and researches in archives, information on the industrial know-hows are revealed. Several historic grades of aluminium-based alloys were found, namely A-U4G, A-U4G1 and A-U3G, depending on the role of the part. Similarly, different protective coatings were identified (anodic oxidation, primers and paintings), depending on the role of the metallic part and its location in the plane. The knowledge of the materials from bulk to the coated surface is necessary for a good conservation practice of the aeronautics heritage artefacts. Related documents and archives also help fundamentally the understanding of such complex cultural heritage systems.
Study of Post-World War II French Aeronautical Aluminium Alloy and Coatings: Historical and Materials Science Approach
Résumé
en
In many countries, collections of ancient aircraft, conserved in Air and Space museums or local associations, reflect the importance of a national or local history. Mostly parked outdoor, aircraft suffer from important corrosion requiring conservation operations. During renovation, metallic parts are often replaced by association members. This can lead to a major loss of information since industrial archives dealing with materials and processes were not necessarily conserved. However, if these elements can be considered, they could be a fundamental source of information on the materials originally used and of the technical history of aeronautics. This work reports a thorough study of aluminium-based alloys parts collected on a Breguet aeroplane dating from the 1950s, during its recent renovation. Thanks to an approach coupling multi-scale material characterisation and researches in archives, information on the industrial know-hows are revealed. Several historic grades of aluminium-based alloys were found, namely A-U4G, A-U4G1 and A-U3G, depending on the role of the part. Similarly, different protective coatings were identified (anodic oxidation, primers and paintings), depending on the role of the metallic part and its location in the plane. The knowledge of the materials from bulk to the coated surface is necessary for a good conservation practice of the aeronautics heritage artefacts. Related documents and archives also help fundamentally the understanding of such complex cultural heritage systems.
1
CEMES-M3 -
Matériaux Multi-fonctionnels et Multi-échelles
( 519182 )
- CEMES 29 rue Jeanne Marvig, BP 94347, F-31055 Toulouse Cedex 4
- France
Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales ( 460 )
;
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse ( 116255 )
;
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées ( 301232 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Institut de Chimie de Toulouse ( 159253 )
;
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement ( 67872 )
;
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier ( 217752 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie ( 341038 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UAR2599 / FR2599 ( 441569 )
;
Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) ( 448187 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier ( 217752 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UPR8011 ( 441569 )
2
CEMES -
Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales
( 460 )
- 29 Rue Jeanne Marvig - BP 94347 31055 TOULOUSE CEDEX 4
- France
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse ( 116255 )
;
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées ( 301232 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Institut de Chimie de Toulouse ( 159253 )
;
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement ( 67872 )
;
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier ( 217752 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie ( 341038 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UAR2599 / FR2599 ( 441569 )
;
Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) ( 448187 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier ( 217752 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UPR8011 ( 441569 )
3
TRACES -
Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés
( 44675 )
- Maison de la Recherche, 5 allée Antonio Machado 31058 TOULOUSE Cedex 9
- France
École des hautes études en sciences sociales ( 99539 )
;
Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès ( 116256 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication ( 300125 )
;
Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives ( 301475 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR5608 ( 441569 )
4
FRAMESPA -
France, Amériques, Espagne,Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs
( 620 )
- Maison de la Recherche 5, allées Antonio Machado 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9
- France
Université de Perpignan Via Domitia UMR 5136 ( 101475 )
;
Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès UMR 5136 ( 116256 )
;
Université de Toulouse ( 443875 )
;
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 5136 ( 441569 )
Langue du document
Anglais
Date de production/écriture
2018-09
Nom de la revue
Studies in Conservation
(ISSN : 0039-3630)
Publié par Maney Publishing
Revue non référencée dans Sherpa-Romeo
Vulgarisation
Non
Comité de lecture
Oui
Audience
Internationale
Date de publication
2019-05-13
Date de publication électronique
2019-05-13
Page/Identifiant
1-15
Domaine(s)
Physique [physics]/Matière Condensée [cond-mat]/Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]
Sciences de l'Homme et Société/Héritage culturel et muséologie
Magali Brunet, Audrey Cochard, Christophe Deshayes, Chantal Brouca-Cabarrecq, Luc Robbiola, et al.. Study of Post-World War II French Aeronautical Aluminium Alloy and Coatings: Historical and Materials Science Approach. Studies in Conservation, 2019, pp.1-15. ⟨10.1080/00393630.2019.1610846⟩. ⟨hal-02127309⟩