Experimental and numerical mechanical study of a framing technique for cupping control of painted panels combining crossbars and springs

This paper deals with theoretical and experimental researches being carried out by the authors in order to model an actual wooden support, and its deformational behaviour, after a back frame has been applied by means of springs, in a Florentine restoration laboratory. Such a device is aimed to serve as a framing technique useful for conservation of one-sided painted boards of wooden artworks. The main outcome of such a research, still ongoing, is a calibrated mathematical and numerical model, which allows one to choose the most appropriate mechanical parameters for springs, according to expected environmental conditions, in order to achieve a balance between deformation control and stress control.