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Durability of different heat treated materials from industrial processes in ground contact
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40312
In this study the durability of heat treated wood originating from four different European industrial heat treatment processes in ground contact was examined. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood/Finland, New Option Wood/France and Menz Holz/Germany where Oil-Heat treated Wood (OHT) is produced. All heat treated materials showed significantly i...
C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Quality assurance approach of the German TMT manufacturers
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40513
Due to an increasing number of TMT manufacturers in central Europe, an organisation of TMT manufacturers was founded in Germany in the beginning of 2010. Since the current level of product testing and property declaration is not satisfying, one of the first activities is the establishment of a quality assurance system. In this paper a concept for quality assurance (QA) will be outlined....
W Scheiding, C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Determination of the water sorption properties and preliminary results from field tests above ground of thermally modified material from industrial scale processes
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40279
In this study the differences in moisture behavior and durability above ground of heat treated wood originating from different European industrial heat treatment plants by means of the water sorption properties as well as field tests were examined. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood (Premium wood)/ Finland and Menz Holz/ Germany, where Oil-...
C R Welzbacher; A O Rapp


Comparison of thermally modified wood originating from four industrial scale processes – durability
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40229
This study examined the differences in biological wood properties of heat treated wood originating from four different European industrial heat treatment plants. The manufacturers of heat treated material were: PLATO Hout B.V./Netherlands, Thermo Wood/Finland, New Option Wood/France and Menz Holz/Germany where Oil-Heat treated Wood (OHT) is produced. The results of miniblock tests with basidiomyc...
C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Formosan Subterranean Termite Resistance to Heat Treatment of Scots Pine and Norway Spruce
2003 - IRG/WP 03-40264
New challenges to the durability of wood building materials have arisen in the U.S. The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) now infests sizable portions of the U.S. south and their range is extending. Heat treatments offer a unique opportunity for wood-based composites because many of the process techniques already employ various thermal applications and could be easil...
W R Smith, A O Rapp, C R Welzbacher, J E Winandy


Termite Response to Oil-Heat-Treated Norway spruce, Scots Pine and Eucalyptus Wood
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20325
The work here presented focused on the behaviour of subterranean termites (Reticulitermes grassei Clément) towards Oil-Heat-Treated (OHT) Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill) wood, with a particular interest in the development of simple methods adequate to study the resistence of these materials to termite attack. Small test ...
L Nunes, T Nobre, C Welzbacher, A O Rapp


High-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test – Part 2: A mechanical test for the detection of fungal decay
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20339
The suitability of the high-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test for detection of early fungal decay was examined. The HEMI – test characterizes the treatment quality of thermally modified wood by stressing the treated material by thousands of impacts of pounding steel balls. This method differentiates between heat treatment intensities, which are expressed by structural changes of the wood. Simil...
C R Welzbacher, C Brischke, A O Rapp


High-energy multiple impact (HEMI)-test – Part 1: A new tool for quality control of thermally modified timber
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20346
Thermal modification processes improve durability and dimensional stability of wood, but the strength properties, especially the dynamic ones, are compromised and need to be considered with respect to industrial quality control. Results from standard dynamic strength testing, such as impact bending tests, suffer from high variability, and therefore require a high number of replicates. To overcome ...
C Brischke, A O Rapp, C R Welzbacher


Mechanical strength of wood from the Vasa shipwreck
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20381
Samples from three ancient ship wrecks (Vasa, Elefanten, and Gröne Jägaren) and recent oak samples as reference were examined with regard to mechanical strength using the high-energy multiple impact (HEMI) - test method, which delivers the resistance to impact milling (RIM) of a material. Adoption and optimisation of the test method for the particular sample size of the wooden drilling cores was...
A O Rapp, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, T Nilsson, C Björdal


The effect of gamma radiation on selected wood properties
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40394
As an easy, fast, and effective sterilisation method, gamma irradiation changes molecular structures not only in pest’s living cells, but also in wooden cell walls. Radiation-induced depolymerisation causes significant changes in some properties of wood crucial for restoration and for laboratory testing of wood-preservative effectiveness. The influence of gamma radiation concerning total amount ...
R Despot, M Hasan, A O Rapp, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher


Impact of decay and blue stain causing fungi on the structural integrity of wood
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10699
The potential influence of diverse decay patterns caused by different brown rot provoking basidiomycetes on the structural integrity of wood was investigated. Additionally the potential impact of blue stain on the structural integrity was examined. Therefore decayed Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) specimens representing a wide range of mass loss, caused by four different brown-rot fungi and one...
C Brischke, C Welzbacher, T Huckfeldt, F Schuh


Barefoot-heat-impact of oil-heat-treated wood: An important thermal property of decking boards
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40458
In this study the phenomenon of sensual heat impression was examined, when walking with bare feet on sun exposed wood based decking boards. A suitable method for measuring the heat flux from decking boards into an artificial foot was developed. The method and measuring device is described as well as results from measuring three different decking board materials: Oil-heat-treated spruce (OHT), untr...
A O Rapp, C R Welzbacher, C Brischke


Estimating the heat treatment intensity through various properties of thermally modified timber (TMT)
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40459
The suitability of different measures for prediction of the heat treatment intensity was investigated. Therefore, the resistance to impact milling (RIM), the lightness L*, the equilibrium moisture content (EMC), the anti swelling efficiency (ASE) and the total amount of soluble carbohydrates (TSC) of heat treated specimens were correlated with corresponding fungal resistance achieved by heat treat...
C R Welzbacher, C Brischke, A O Rapp


TMT–Interlab–Test to establish suitable quality control techniques - Structure and first results
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40503
As a result of growing quality demands from manufacturers and end-consumers of thermally modified timber (TMT) recent scientific research activities are increasingly focussed on modification mechanisms and by this on the development of suitable quality control methods. To deepen the knowledge in modification mechanisms and to obtain a larger variety of scientific data for TMT depending on the trea...
C R Welzbacher


Service life prediction of wooden components - Part 3: Approaching a comprehensive test methodology
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20464
This paper is the third in a series on 'service life prediction' of wooden components and should be considered as a discussion paper. The authors tried to analyze the topic with a look from a distance and comment sometimes with a smile on the current controversial discussion about SLP issues. Nevertheless, the viewpoints of different groups, such as natural scientists, engineers, approva...
C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, L Meyer, T Bornemann, P Larsson Brelid, A Pilgård, E Frühwald-Hansson, M Westin, A O Rapp, S Thelandersson, J Jermer


Thermally modified timber (TMT) for decking applications – determination of relevant surface properties
2011 - IRG/WP 11-40544
In recent years thermally modified timber (TMT) entered various market segments. It is used for facades, horticultural equipment, garden furniture, and also for kitchen and bathroom cabinets. However, flooring turned out to be the most important application for TMT, either as interior parquet or as exterior decking. Besides durability and dimensional stability, which had been the initial target pr...
L Meyer, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher


Implementation of a Quality Assurance System for thermally modified timber (TMT) by the Association of Central European TMT-Producers
2011 - IRG/WP 11-40558
Due to increasing market shares of thermally modified timber (TMT) in Europe, a working group of ten central European TMT manufacturers (TMT-WG) was founded in 2010 to cover public relations and marketing activities. Since the present level of product testing and property declaration was not satisfying, a “task group TMT-quality” was put into action in 2010 to develop a comprehensive quality a...
C R Welzbacher, W Scheiding


In-ground variability of decay intensity within a test field
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20496
Timber exposed in the ground faces most severe conditions in terms of exposure to wetting and fungal decay in the terrestrial environment, therefore wood durability tests are often conducted in test fields preferably ensuring the occurrence of all relevant decay organisms. One can also expect differences in decay within an individual field-test site due to localized distribution of certain organis...
C Brischke, S Olberding, L Meyer, T Bornemann, C R Welzbacher


Influence of heat treatment intensity on the structural integrity of 14 timber species
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40586
Thermally modified timber (TMT) is characterized by improved durability and dimensionally stability, but strength properties, especially the dynamic ones, are compromised at the same time. Because dynamic standard tests require high efforts and time, the high-energy multiple impact (HEMI) –test was developed for the fast and reliable characterisation of the structural integrity of TMT, showing a...
C R Welzbacher, C Brischke, G Maier


Statistical analysis of durability tests - Part 1: Principles of distribution fitting and application on laboratory tests
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20504
Service life prediction is an important topic in wood research, especially with regard to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Both laboratory tests as well as in-service performance testing are therefore essential in combination with proper monitoring and analysis tools. A crucial concept is variability in testing and analysis, especially for a biological material such as wood. The larger ...
I De Windt, J Van den Bulcke, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, A Gellerich, S Bollmus, M Humar,


Determination of the natural durability of solid wood against wood-destroying fungi - a European round-robin test
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20511
In Europe the durability of wood against wood-destroying basidiomycetes is tested according to CEN/TS 15083-1 (2005). Hitherto existing experience with this standard is quite heterogeneous and results from previous round-robin tests have stayed unreported or have been reported incompletely. In particular the need for natural pre-weathering of the test specimens to allow potential detoxification of...
C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, A Gellerich, S Bollmus, M Humar, K Plaschkies, W Scheiding, G Alfredsen, J Van Acker, I De Windt


Statistical analysis of durability tests - Part 2: Principles of time-to-failure and application on field test data
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20512
Service life prediction is an important topic in wood research, especially with regard to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Both laboratory tests as well as in-service performance testing is therefore essential, in combination with proper monitoring and analysis tools. A crucial concept is variability and the incorporation of variability in tests and analysis. In this paper we focus on t...
J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp, J Van Acker