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Glued laminated poles - Progress report after 18 years' testing
1998 - IRG/WP 98-20140
In 1979 a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse at Uppsala, at the Simlångsdalen test field in southern Sweden and under a power line in Vuollerim in northern Sweden in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The tests have shown that the best performance will be obtained if each laminate is first treated with a water-bo...
Ö Bergman, J Jermer


Glue laminated poles - Progress report after 12 years' testing
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3685
In 1979 a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse at Uppsala, at the Simlångsdalen test field in southern Sweden and under a power line just south of the Arctic circle in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The tests have shown that the comparatively best performance will be obtained if each laminate is first treated wi...
J Jermer, Ö Bergman


Inorganic preservative levels in soil under treated wood decks after 8 years natural exposure in Borås, Sweden
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50233
Inorganic preservative components (Cu, Cr and As) were measured to a depth of 150 mm under deck structures made with Scots pine lumber treated with several different wood preservatives and installed in Borås Sweden 8 years ago. Higher contaminant levels were observed mainly under the drip lines and in the top 50 mm of soil. Under CCA treated decks, soil arsenic concentrations increased from ba...
P A Cooper, Y T Ung, M-L Edlund, J Jermer


Evaluation of wood preservatives for Nordic wood preservation class AB
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30297
In the Nordic countries there are restrictions in the use of wood preservatives based on chromium and arsenic. For above ground use, class AB according to the Nordic system, only copper based preservatives are allowed in Sweden. Thus several new preservatives, copper based or metal free are now used. They have been approved by the Nordic Wood Preservation Council after passing laboratory tests ag...
M-L Edlund, J Jermer


Chemical and biological investigations of double-vacuum treated windows after 7½ years in service
1985 - IRG/WP 3339
Earlier investigations of double-vacuum treated windows after five years in service have shown that tributyltin oxide (TBTO) degrades to di- and monobutyltin compounds and that the resistance of the wood against decay decreases. An investigation 2.5 years later of the same windows shows that the degradation of TBTO proceeds fast. After 7.5 years in service only 15-35% of the remaining organotin co...
M-L Edlund, J Jermer, B Henningsson, W Hintze


Bending strength of heat-treated spruce and pine timber
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40242
Heat-treatment of spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) beams (45 x 145 mm) gave a reduction in bending strength of approximately 50%. The bending stiffness (modulus of elasticity) only decreased by 3.5%. Tests were carried out according to EN 408. Another effect of the heat-treatment was increased variation in bending strength. The 5th percentile value of the bending strength, the so c...
C Bengtsson, J Jermer, F Brem


Furfurylated wood – withdrawal load for fasteners
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40381
The withdrawal load for hot dip galvanized nails and chromated decking screws in furfurylated Baltic redwood (Pinus sylvestris) with a Weight Percent Gain (WPG) of approximately 40 % was measured according to DIN 1052. The average withdrawal loads were 60-100 % higher for the nails and approximately 20 % higher for the screws in the furfurylated wood compared to untreated wood. The results ind...
J Jermer, A Clang


Durability of some alternatives to preservative-treated wood. Progress report 2: Results from field tests after 5 years’exposure
2007 - IRG/WP 07-30442
A number of alternatives to preservative-treated wood have been tested according to EN 252 (stake test) and a specially designed ground-proximity field test, the latter in Sweden as well as in Hawaii, USA. Seven untreated wood species and four alternative wood treatments labelled as environmentally friendly (acetylation, linseed oil, heat treatment, vinyl polymer) were included in the study. Four ...
M-L Edlund, J Jermer


Cantilever bending test of furfurylated poles
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40424
Ten, 8 m long poles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were treated with furfuryl alcohol to a WPG of approximately 40 %. A bending test was performed according to the principles in the draft European standard for wooden poles, prEN 14229 - Structural timber - Wood Poles for overhead lines. The bending strength and stiffness (MOE) for the poles tested were compared to an earlier study by the Swedish Wood Preservation Committee. In the latter study untreated, CCA-treated, ammoniacal Cu-PCP treated and creosoted poles were tested in bending. These types of poles were considered not to differ in strength and stiffness. The results of the furfurylated poles fit well with the results from the previous study. The bending strength and MOE values obtained are compared to the upper and lower 95-percentile values of the results from the previous study and all poles treated with furfuryl alcohol fit within this interval.Thus, this study indicates that a treatment with furfuryl alcohol does not result in a decrease of strength or stiffness. Further testing with a larger population of poles is necessary in order to get a statistically reliable result. In addition to further demonstration of the durability, the treatment process must be optimised to ensure full sapwood penetration and measures have to be taken to avoid the serious cracking observed in this trial before furfurylation can be considered for treatment of Pinus sylvestris poles.
R Ziethén, J Jermer, A Clang


Glued laminated poles - Progress report after 30 years testing
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20427
In 1979 a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse at Uppsala, at the Simlångsdalen test field in southern Sweden and in a power lane in Vuollerim in northern Sweden in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The tests have shown that the best performance will be obtained if each lamination is treated with a water-borne pre...
Ö Bergman, J Jermer


Mould growth on wood-based materials – a comparative study
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20455
Ten different wood-based materials - preservative-treated wood, fire retardant-treated wood, modified wood, WPCs and untreated references of pine sapwood and spruce - were tested for mould growth according to SP method 2899 during 42 days at 90% RH and 22°C. Even though the results must be interpreted carefully, they indicate significant differences in mould resistance between the materials tes...
P Johansson, J Jermer


Field trials of wood preservatives in UC3 retention. Part 1. Durability results after 13 years in and above ground
2010 - IRG/WP 10-30548
In 1996 an extensive field trial program was set up in order to obtain more data on wood treated with chromium and arsenic free preservatives in Use Class 3 retention. Apart from durability in and above ground, other features were also assessed, e.g. discoloration by staining fungi, depletion of active ingredients, weathering and corrosion of fasteners in con¬tact with the treated wood. Wood spec...
M Westin, J Jermer, M-L Edlund, P Larsson Brelid, I Johansson


Durability testing of coconut shell according to ENV 807
2011 - IRG/WP 11-10761
Coconut shell was tested in the laboratory according to the European standard ENV 807 with three different soil types: compost soil, brown rot/soft rot rich soil and white rot/soft rot rich soil. Mass losses between 14 and 16 % were achieved with all three soils, indicating that the decay type is of little importance in the degradation process. Somewhat higher mass losses, 19-22 % were obtained fo...
J Jermer, A H H Wong, K Segerholm, T Nilsson


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


Quantitative design guideline for wood outdoors above ground applications
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20465
This paper describes the background and principles behind an engineering design guideline for wood in outdoor above ground applications, i.e. use class 3 according to EN 335. The guideline has been developed in the European research project WoodExter and can be seen as a first prototype for a quantitative design tool in the area of wood durability. It is based on a defined limit state for onset of...
S Thelandersson, T Isaksson, E Suttie, E Frühwald, T Toratti, G Grüll, H Viitanen, J Jermer


Methods of field data evaluation - time versus reliability
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20466
Field testing of wood and wood-based products is so far the most reliable way to get information on performance with respect to durability and expected service life. However, field trials are extremely time and cost consuming. The main objective of the present study was to investigate possible correlations between early stages of decay, preferably during the first 5 years, and the actual service l...
P Larsson Brelid, C Brischke, A O Rapp, M Hansson, M Westin, J Jermer, A Pilgård


Re-use of casting timber
2011 - IRG/WP 11-50283
Re-use of casting timber could be a way of saving timber resources, particularly in countries where most timber for construction purposes has to be imported. The objective of the present study was to investigate residual concrete on casting timber re-used five times. Moulds were made of sections of Norway spruce, untreated and treated with a casting oil and a wax formulation applied by a vacuum-pr...
I Johansson, S Breyne, H Egnell, J Jermer


Corrosion of fasteners in heat-treated wood – progress report after nine years’ exposure outdoors
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40601
The corrosion of common fastener materials now in use - mild steel, zinc-coated steel, aluminium and Sanbond Z-coated steel – has been evaluated after nine years’ exposure outdoors in untreated and heat-treated (thermally modified) spruce (Picea abies). Spruce from south-western Sweden was used. The heat-treatment was carried out in Finland by Stora-Enso Oy according to the ThermoWood process ...
J Jermer, B-L Andersson


Mould growth on wood-based materials – a simulated in-service study
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20503
Ten different wood-based materials including preservative-treated wood, fire retardant-treated wood, modified wood, WPCs and untreated references of pine sapwood and spruce were placed in three different environments (an attic and two crawl spaces) for a period of 26 months. Mould growth was analysed at five to seven month intervals in an effort to map the growth development. The relative humidit...
G Bok, P Johansson, J Jermer


A critical view on early indicators for above ground field performance of wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20509
Above ground field tests are quite often a balancing act between the provision of realistic test conditions, reliable statistics, and acceptable long test durations. Within this study we therefore reviewed 543 data sets from above ground field tests performed at 36 different test sites in 8 countries in Australia and Europe. The main objective was to investigate possible correlations between early...
C Brischke, L Meyer, G Alfredsen, P-O Flæte, L Francis, M Hansson, P Larsson Brelid, J Jermer


Estimation of service life of treated wood in ground contact based on early indicators
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20536
A well-known problem with field testing is that it takes a long time before meaningful and reliable results are achieved. Only when a trial has come to an end the so called average life for the samples in a group can be calculated and compared with other samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to get a reasonable and good estimation of the average life long befor...
M Hansson, J Jermer, P Larsson Brelid, N Terziev


Performance standards for wood in construction – delivering customer service life requirements
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20537
There is increasing need for consideration of performance classification for wood products in construction, as evidenced by the CPR, warranty providers and end user demands for information. This means we need to radically consider how the tests we conduct on wood for durability (especially biological durability) can inform on service life and how they might if possible be translated into a perform...
E Suttie, C Brischke, F Englund, E Heisel, J Jermer, D Lorenzo, M Polášek, S Thelandersson, J Van Acker


Moisture dynamics of wood – An approach to implement wetting ability of wood into a resistance classification concept
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20557
Within the research programmes WoodBuild and PerformWOOD, wetting ability tests have been conducted with 25 wood-based materials. A first attempt has been made to establish factors for calculating the material resistance of wood materials to be implemented into a design guideline for timber structures. The approach looks promising, but further studies are needed to establish more reliable relation...
C Brischke, C Hesse, L Meyer, S Bardage, J Jermer, T Isaksson


Performance classification of wood in construction – drafting a user friendly European standard
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20545
The performance classification for wood products in construction is an extremely important topic in Europe and beyond – warranty providers and end users demand service life and performance information in the face of competition with other materials. The European project PerformWOOD has formalised and drawn together the on-going research to focus on generation of a material resistance factor for ...
E Suttie, C Brischke, L Meyer, J Van Acker, M Kutnik, E Heisel, F Englund, J Jermer, S Thelandersson, M Polášek, D Lorenzo


In-ground durability of wood-based products – Comparative assessment of graveyard field tests and terrestrial microcosms
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20538
Traditionally wood durability and the effectiveness of wood preservatives are determined in so-called graveyard tests (according to EN 252 or AWPA E7). For laboratory testing, terrestrial microcosms (TMC) can serve as an alternative. Both tests have been applied for different types of wood-based materials, preservative treated, modified and unmodified wood. However, the usability of laboratory res...
A Soetbeer, L Meyer, C Brischke, P Larsson-Brelid, J Jermer


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