Feasibility study of Dutch concept of deep geological repository for radioactive waste is at present widely conducted in the Netherlands. In this project, transport properties of selenate ion in clay materials were investigated. Apparent diffusion coefficients of selenate ion were obtained as results. To study possible alternations of Boom Clay by alkaline concrete pore water, elemental composition and pore structure of raw Boom Clay samples were characterized.

Parts of the Southwest Palace of Sennacherib (700 BC), which were located in Nineveh (Iraq), are now destroyed by the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria. The palace rooms used to be decorated with numerous Assyrian reliefs. Luckily, digital pictures of the site are available thanks to an Italian expedition in 2002. The goal of this research is to physically reproduce the destroyed reliefs using this photo database. First photogrammetry was used to rebuild
the global dimensions of the reliefs. The details are reconstructed by fusing a highly detailed depth map retrieved with Shape from Luminance (SFL), together with a coarser Artificial Reconstruction. The fused reconstruction was evaluated with the eigenvalues of the Hessian. The eigenvalues give an intuitive measure about the shapes of the reliefs. The RMSE of the results improve up to 44.4% compared to the usage of an intensity (grey) image. The final 3D models are used to produce full size reproductions with 3D printing and CNC milling.

Orpiment and realgar are yellow and red arsenic sulphide pigments that have been used since antiquity in works of art until the 19thcentury, when their use was restricted due to their toxicity. With time, these pigments degrade to form colourless arsenic oxide. Different oxidation states of arsenic (+3 and +5) in the degradation products have been recently found. Moreover, they have been identified throughout the whole painting layout from the panel until the varnish, suggesting the migration of degradation products through the paint layers. Besides changing the aspect, they might change the stability of the painting or painted object. Furthermore, they might represent a potential hazard for conservators when dealing with the work of art. Since a painting is in equilibrium with its environment, there is always water in motion inside the painting. It is therefore believed that the degradation products are migrating via water. However, the migration mechanism is still not well understood. This thesis aims to provide a better insight into the diffusion process of arsenites (As+3) and arsenates (As+5) in materials commonly found in paintings. For this, two different approaches were followed:

In one hand, light aged painting reconstructions were analysed with FTIR microscopy and SEM-EDS to asses the effect of different grounds and relative humidity on the migration of arsenic. In all the samples, degradation products were found in the orpiment layer based on the As-O vibration, detected with FTIR microscopy. It was possible to identify arsenic in the ground layer close to the orpiment-ground interface for all samples with both techniques. However, due to the low intensity and the proximity to the interface of the arsenic found in the grounds, no conclusions could be drawn about its migration.

On the other hand, in-situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and EIS measurements were performed on a set of samples to analyse the water, arsenates and arsenites diffusion through oil and two varnishes (dammar and mastic). The diffusion coefficients of water in oil, dammar and mastic were determined with both techniques. It was found that the water diffuses faster in oil than in the two varnishes. Despite being similar, mastic was found to be less stable than dammar since a decrease in its barrier properties with time was found. The diffusion of arsenates and arsenites in dammar and mastic was studied by EIS and the diffusion coefficients were calculated for the first time. It was found that the diffusion of arsenites in the coatings is faster than arsenates, which is in accordance to the diffusion of these species in water. EIS resulted in a promising technique in the study of diffusion of ions in coatings. Although further research is needed to fully understand the migration mechanism of arsenic in painting systems, this thesis provides a useful insight and a methodology with which the water and ion transport in coatings can be studied.