Field and laboratory tests have been performed to analyse the response of s
howcases to environmental factors. The following properties have been teste
d. Thermal damping. Greenhouse effect and IR absorption of the materials mo
st commonly used for panes. Impact of different types of light sources. Hum
idity buffering capacity and rate. Inside/outside exchanges and leakage. Pe
netration and deposition of airborne particles. Advantages and disadvantage
s of airtight and non-airtight showcases in view of protection against dust
, corrosive self-outgassing of VOC and microbiological infection and growth
. A proposal is made to indicate all of the case characteristics, and their
response to the ambient, with appropriate indexes, which represent the lev
el of quality in view of the specific problems of the user. A quantitative
evaluation of each index quality level is also discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier
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