Please cite this article in press as: Z. Huijbregts, et al., Modelling of heat and moisture induced strain to assess the impact of present and historical indoor climate conditions on mechanical degradation of a wooden cabinet, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2014.11.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model CULHER-2909; No. of Pages 9 Journal of Cultural Heritage xxx (2014) xxx–xxx Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com Original article Modelling of heat and moisture induced strain to assess the impact of present and historical indoor climate conditions on mechanical degradation of a wooden cabinet Zara Huijbregts a,∗ , Henk Schellen a,1 , Jos van Schijndel a,2 , Bart Ankersmit b,3 a Department of the Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands b Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 1600, 3800 BP Amersfoort, The Netherlands a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 27 February 2014 Accepted 6 November 2014 Available online xxx Keywords: Hygrothermal building simulation Finite element modelling Climate change Historic buildings Mechanical degradation Wooden cabinets a b s t r a c t To assess the risk of present and future indoor climate conditions within historic buildings on mechani- cal degradation of wooden art objects, it is of high importance to know the climate variations that these objects might have been exposed to in the past. Historical indoor climate data can indicate climate vari- ations that may have caused damage to objects. Avoiding these variations in the present and future may prevent new or further degradation. However, historical indoor climate data conditions are often not available and cannot be derived from recent indoor climate data as many historic buildings nowadays have climate control systems. In this study, multi-zone hygrothermal building simulation is applied to reconstruct the historical indoor climate in a 17th-century Dutch castle based on meteorological data, building properties, and user behaviour. Furthermore, a finite element model is created to analyse heat and moisture induced strain of a historic wooden cabinet. This cabinet has been located in the castle since the 18th century and shows damage caused by movement of the wood in response to climate variations. Mechanical degradation of the cabinet could have occurred when the strain exceeded the yield strain for safe, reversible deformation. The results show that combining a hygrothermal building simulation model and a finite element model can generate an adequate prediction of the microclimate around an object; though obtaining accurate data on hygroscopic and mechanical material properties can be diffi- cult. Although the cabinet has experienced considerable tension after a conservation heating system was installed in the castle during a recent major renovation, the predicted strain was within the limits for safe, reversible deformation. This corresponds to the observation that no further damage occurred after the renovation. Damage may not be caused by the regular present or historical indoor climate in the castle, but could be indicated if the long-term average moisture content of the wood significantly deviates from the room conditions or if the vapour concentration in the room increases because of a flooding event. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. 1. Research aims The purpose of this study is developing a method to predict the impact of indoor climate variations within a historic building on the mechanical degradation risk to a wooden cabinet. The article discusses the potential and limits of reconstructing the historical indoor climate by a multi-zone hygrothermal building ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 402473523. E-mail addresses: z.huijbregts@tue.nl (Z. Huijbregts), h.l.schellen@tue.nl (H. Schellen), a.w.m.v.schijndel@tue.nl (J. van Schijndel), b.ankersmit@cultureelerfgoed.nl (B. Ankersmit). 1 Tel.: +31 402472651. 2 Tel.: +31 402472957. 3 Tel.: +31 334217421. simulation model and coupling the outcome with a finite ele- ment model to predict the hygrothermal and mechanical behaviour of a two-dimensional wooden object under different indoor cli- mate scenarios. The results can be used in guidelines for tolerable indoor climate variations in historic buildings to prevent mechan- ical degradation of wooden art objects. 2. Introduction Many historic buildings have housed art objects, such as paintings and furniture, for centuries. As a result, the historical col- lections today have become intrinsic to the monumental value of the building. Conservation strategies, therefore, focus on preserva- tion of both the building and its collection therein; changes to the external appearance of the building are not desired and biological, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2014.11.001 1296-2074/© 2014 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.