TY - CONF A1 - Raedel, Martina A1 - Bücker, Michael A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Reimann, Mandy T1 - Mobile anodization for the conservation of damaged architectural aluminium elements N2 - Initial situation: Aluminum is an often-used building material in modern architecture, not only for construction but as well for facades and decorative elements. In the 1950th and 1960th, after World War II, many buildings in Germany were constructed with aluminum or contain elements of colored anodized aluminum. In the last years a larger number of these buildings are increasingly in the sight of conservation works including the aluminum parts such as window frames or facade coverings. Damaged Aluminum Surfaces: Common damages are a change of color or gloss changes through weathering processes, drill holes or marks due to later modifications, scratches in the anodized layer due to extensive wear e.g. at handrails or door handles. To repair damaged aluminum surfaces, there are usually two options: smaller damaged areas are repaired by using a touch-up pen. In case of larger damages, the complete re-anodization is necessary. This includes to de-anodize the surface with cleaning and grinding the whole aluminum object. Both possibilities are disadvantageous for the objects. The touch-up pen often does not match the color of the original surface together with an insufficient corrosion protection for outdoors. While the newly anodized surface differs in color and gloss from the originally applied color. Research Approach: The whole procedure contrasts with the principal approach in conservation which aims to intervene as less as possible, in case of the conservation of an object. To fulfill this approach in a more appropriate way the research project focuses on a mobile and partial application for colored, anodized aluminum parts. To anodize aluminum the application of an electrolyte onto the surface together with sufficient voltage and current is necessary. Generally diluted sulfuric acid is used as electrolyte. Different possibilities are examined to enable the mobile application of the electrolyte, e. g. the application by producing a gel matrix or like in electroplating by pen or brush wrapped with a fleece fabric. Experimental part: First experiments are conducted to examine the structure of the anodized layer in relation with proper cleaning, anodization time with applied voltage and current and the coloring process. The aim was to reduce the preparation procedure and the anodization time as much as possible to facilitate the mobile application. Examinations with Keyence microscope, Eddy current testing and REM are performed to characterize the layers. The results are shown in table 1. A clear connection between proper cleaning, anodization time, voltage and amperage and the achieved thickness of the anodized layer is significant. Cracks in the layer show that raising the voltage and amperage results in thicker layers but as well in a crumbled and less stable anodized surface. Gel preparation: In addition to the anodization process with a liquid e.g. sulfuric acid a gel application is tested to prevent the electrolyte from rinsing down during the mobile application. For this purpose, several gel-forming agents are tested together with their stability in acid systems. It was observed, that the consistency of the gels varies dependent of the time. Conductivity: The conductivity of sulfuric acid combined with different gel-systems was measured and compared in order to predict the possible growth of layers during anodic oxidation process. Further steps: Determination and optimization of application parameters like voltage, amperage and anodization-time to build up a preferably stable and sufficient thick anodized layer. Examination of gel preparation to guarantee a stable product, enforcing with textile tape for easy application. T2 - Architectural Aluminum in the 21st Century CY - Boston, MA, USA DA - 24.03.2018 KW - Aluminum KW - Anodization KW - Historic buildings KW - Mobile application PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-45018 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -