Natural Freeze-drying of Water-degraded Timber Structures: Feasibility Study

The objectives of this project were: To gather data from a small scale experimental freeze-drying unit, using natural local conditions, with a view to extending the experiment to a larger scale installation sufficient to deal with timbers from archaeological shipwrecks and other timber constructions. The climate of the Vestfold Hills at Davis Base is exceptionally dry and, apart from a short summer period, the temperature is below freezing. The dryness and the low temperature of the area makes it a theoretically ideal location to naturally freeze-dry large water-logged wooden items. A small 2m3 container housing a selection of waterlogged wood has been installed below ground level. Water vapour from the frozen samples is extracted by a wind driven venturi system. Changes in temperature, sample weight, and air pressure are logged and the data are transferred regularly to Canberra. The fields in this dataset are: Date Time Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Ice Weight Wood Weight Windspeed