Assessment of laser cleaning rate on limestones and sandstones

• Published in: Journal of cultural heritage Vol. 1; pp. S21 - S27
• Main Authors: Labouré, Martin, Bromblet, Philippe, Orial, Geneviève, Wiedemann, Günter, Simon-Boisson, Christophe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier SAS 01-08-2000
• Subjects: building; cleaning rate; laser cleaning; limestone; stone; cleaning rate; limestone; building; laser cleaning; stone
• ISSN: 1296-2074; 1778-3674
• DOI: 10.1016/S1296-2074(00)00195-3

Within the framework of a European project, three cleaning laser devices are tested to evaluate the influence of different parameters on stone cleaning rate and efficiency. The project objective is to design a large surface-cleaning laser. One of the devices is a prototype with some technological improvements compared to the lasers used today for restoration. The tests are performed on limestone and sandstone covered with various dirt layers. The influence of fluence, water spraying, spot area, frequency, as well as particle emission rate is investigated. Results allow a comparison of the importance of each parameter and confirm the increase in cleaning speed of the new prototype. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that an automatic device will be suitable to attain a cleaning speed competitive with other traditional cleaning techniques.