Laser Sensors for Continuous In-Situ Monitoring of the Dimensional Response of Wooden Objects

The application of triangulation laser displacement sensors to the continuous in-situ monitoring of the response of wooden cultural objects to variations in temperature and relative humidity in their environment is reported. The sensors are robust, fast and precise, provide non-contact measurements, and are capable of operating in the field. They have been applied to monitor the response of the altarpiece in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena in Rocca Pietore, Italy, to fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity caused by the use of the heating system. Complex short-, medium- and long-term responses of a variety of carved wooden elements have been recorded.