A Review of Corrosion Behavior and Protection Technology of Wooden Cultural Relics

doi:10.11902/1005.4537.2025.329

Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection

2026, Vol. 46

Issue (2): 341-351 DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2025.329

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A Review of Corrosion Behavior and Protection Technology of Wooden Cultural Relics

ZHANG Lingling¹^,², GUO Yingzhi²(

), YANG Chao³(

)

^1.School of Management, Putian University, Putian 351100, China
^2.Department of Tourism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
^3.National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Cite this article:

ZHANG Lingling, GUO Yingzhi, YANG Chao. A Review of Corrosion Behavior and Protection Technology of Wooden Cultural Relics. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2026, 46(2): 341-351.

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Abstract

Wooden cultural relics, as an important component of human cultural heritage, possess irreplaceable historical, artistic, and scientific value. However, due to their porous, hygroscopic, and nutrient-rich nature, wooden materials are highly susceptible to degradation caused by environmental and biological factors, thereby posing a serious threat to their long-term preservation. This paper presents a statistical analysis of international and domestic research on the corrosion of wooden cultural relics, including publication output and keyword clustering, and systematically reviews recent advances in corrosion mechanisms, influencing factors, and protective technologies. Regarding corrosion behavior, the paper elaborates on the coupled destructive mechanisms triggered by microorganisms, chemical factors, and aging. In terms of influencing factors, it summarizes the regulatory effect of chemical composition and microstructure of the wooden materials, as well as the effect of environmental parameters such as moisture, temperature, pH, and salinity etc. Concerning protective technologies, it reviews the current applications and development trends of non-destructive/mini-destructive detection methods, as well as the stabilization, dehydration, drying, and environmental-control techniques. Finally, this paper underscores the necessity of constructing an intelligent protection platform based on multi-source data integration and digital twins, providing systematic solutions for risk assessment, intervention decision-making, and sustainable preservation of wooden cultural relics through real-time monitoring and AI-based early warning.

Key words: wooden cultural relics research statistics corrosion mechanisms detection techniques protective methods

Received: 24 October 2025 32134.14.1005.4537.2025.329

ZTFLH:

TG172

Fund: Innovation Strategy Research Program of Fujian Province(2025R0059);Social Science Foundation of Fujian Province(FJ2024BF046);Startup Fund for Advanced Talents of Putian University(2024154)

Corresponding Authors: GUO Yingzhi, E-mail: yingzhig@fudan.edu.cn;

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https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2025.329 OR https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2026/V46/I2/341

Fig.1 Annual publication trends on corrosion and protection research of wooden cultural relics

Fig.2 Collaboration networks of national and institutional cooperation on corrosion and protection research of wooden cultural relics: (a) country/region, (b) institution

Fig.3 Co-occurrence of research keywords on corrosion and protection of wooden cultural relics: (a) international; (b) domestic

Fig.4 Keyword clustering diagrams of research on corrosion and protection of wooden cultural relics: (a) international, (b) domestic

Fig.5 Cellular structure of severely damaged wooden cultural relics from the “Xiaobaijiao No.1” shipwrecks: The cell wall is being degraded by bacteria (a), severe internal damage to cells (b), severely damaged and blackened cells (c), The entire cell layer is twisted and the ducts undergo deformation and rupture (d), S2 layer of the cell wall is separated from the middle layer of the gel layer (e), cells have tended to pulverize and fracture (f)^[4]

Fig.6 Element mapping of wood structure of Nanhai Ⅰ shipwreck: (a) red rectangle area is close to the wood surface and cross-section of wood structure, (b) tangential section of wood structure^[7]

Fig.7 Three-dimensional reconstruction of wooden cultural relics images: (a) filter and image segmentation results, (b) volume rendering results^[23]

Fig.8 Mechanism of organic silicon resin modified on wood surface^[25]

Fig.9 Application of a new type of fungicide mixture in biological control of cultural heritage^[33]

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