Physical and Chemical Assessment of a Patrimony Sample

The objective of this paper was to investigate the physical and chemical properties of a sample from a national heritage private collection from the beginning of the 20th century. The fibrous composition was determined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and also Optical Microscopy, these methods also providing an insight on the level of degradation of the sample. Physical and mechanical analysis methods were performed on yarns extracted from the sample with the purpose of gathering informations about the way the textile fabric was produced. The thermal behavior of the extracted yarns was assessed by using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). This way it could be determined the level of humidity which was present in the yarns, the melting temperature of the crystalline areas in the fibers, the enthalpy of melting and the temperature of thermal destruction of the sample. Although DSC is a destructive analysis, the main advantage of this method is the necessity of a very small amount of sample. According to the results, the sample's composition was 100% wool and it had some level of damage due to environmental factors, considering its old age. DSC analysis indicated a low level of humidity and also confirms the composition of the material as being indeed wool.