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Evaluation of surface cracks on wood – physical assessment versus subjective sensation
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20617
In the presented studies from the University of Goettingen (Study I) and the University of Hannover (Study II), the assessment of cracks with different methods and their acceptance in general as well as depending on different target groups are investigated. The aim was to determine which factors are relevant for a crack evaluation and which visual impression of a wooden surface is tolerable for co...
A Gellerich, C Brischke, L Emmerich, L Meyer-Veltrup, P Kaudewitz


Resistance of modified wood to termite attack assessed in laboratory and field testing: A review of internal research
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40824
Within the past decades, new wood modification technologies have been investigated in order to improve certain wood characteristics and enable the use of timber products for outdoor applications. Some of these non-biocidal technologies have been developed and commercialized recently. Thus, various material properties were studied intensively and shown to be improved. To a great extent, previous re...
L Emmerich, P Gascón-Garrido, H Militz


Long-term performance of DMDHEU-treated wood exposed in ground, above ground and in the marine environment
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40825
Chemical wood modification with N-methylol compounds such as 1.3-dimethylol-4.5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) has been studied intensively since the 1990s. Research of the past years focused on treatment of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) and was shown to be applicable to improve specific material properties. A high resistance against wood-destroying ...
L Emmerich, H Militz, C Brischke


Quantifying the effect of microclimatic parameters on the moisture-induced decay risk of wooden structures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20649
Wood exposed outdoors is prone to fungal degradation. Besides its material-inherent resistance, numerous factors are impacting on its service life with both, climate and design having a major effect. In addition, topography, shading, wind barriers, and other local parameters have an effect on the microclimatic conditions at site and therefore need to be quantified for service life prediction of wo...
L Emmerich, C Brischke


Study on the ability of wood-destroying fungi to grow through chemically modified wood
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40858
Over the last decades, chemical wood modification technologies were developed to increase the resistance against attack by wood-destroying organisms without using biocides. Most of those technologies are based on an impregnation step initially. In most treated wood products, mainly by using solid wood in thicker dimensions as in posts, poles, sleepers, deckings etc. it is known that wood impregnat...
L Emmerich, S Strohbusch, C Brischke, S Bollmus, H Militz


Biological durability of sapling wood
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10967
Sapling-wood products from different wood species such as willow (Salix spp.) and Common hazel (Corylus avellana) are frequently used for gardening and outdoor decoration purposes. Remaining bark is suggested to provide additional biological durability. Even for temporary outdoor use it seemed questionable that durability of juvenile sapwood can provide acceptably long service lives of horticultur...
C Brischke, L Emmerich, D G B Nienaber, S Bollmus


Performance of resin-treated solid wood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) under marine conditions
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10973
Wood is a traditional building material in the marine environment, where it is exposed to extremely harsh conditions. Most of the indigenous softwood and hardwood species in Europe are not durable against attack by marine organisms. Recently, wood modification has been considered as an alternative to protect non-durable wood species under use class (UC) 5 (EN 335, 2013) conditions. The present stu...
L Emmerich, C Brischke, S Bicke, H Militz


A novel wood preservation technology improving durability and water-related properties
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40926
A newly developed silicone oil (Archroma Management GmbH, Switzerland) was tested for wood modification purposes. Scots pine sapwood was treated with aqueous solutions of this silicone oil and showed a penetration of the modification agent into the wood cell wall. Both, biological durability and moisture-related properties, experienced significant improvements by the modification. Besides, the mod...
L Emmerich, H Militz, M Vila


Durability against fungal decay of sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40928
Most European-grown wood species are susceptible to biological degradation, specifically, they suffer from a poor resistance against wood-destroying fungi. Therefore, prior to outdoor exposure, wood has to be treated either by applying a protective coating on its surface or by full-volume impregnation with antifungal chemicals. However, due to environmental and health concerns, the most frequently...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 1: 15 years’ experience with the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20695
A ‘jack of all trades’ method for above-ground wood durability testing has been sought for decades, but until now no method has found its way into standardization. The method of choice shall be applicable for untreated and treated wood – ideally also for wood composites. It shall be reproducible, objective, fast, easy, and inexpensive. Finally, it shall provide high predictive power. This s...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 2: The full guideline of the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20696
To determine the biological durability of wood above ground, numerous approaches for test methods have been pursued and tried out in the field in the past. So far, no method has managed to find its way into a European standard. During the last 15 years, experience with the Bundle method has been gained. As described in Part 1 of this paper, the method is recommended as a suitable tool for determin...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Biological durability and wood-water interactions of sorbitol and citric acid modified wood – Effects on the expected service life
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40960
A high level of research activities on sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood has been recognized in Europe over the last few years. As this treatment is close to entering an industrial-scale production, it is of interest to investigate how such treated wood performs upon long-term outdoor exposure. Hence, in this study Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was modified with aqueous sol...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


Adhesion and performance of exterior wood coatings on chemically and thermally modified wood – Results from 5.5 years outdoor exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40964
Non-durable softwood and hardwood species were treated with the water-soluble cyclic N-methylol compounds 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and methylated DMDHEU. One half of the modified specimens were coated with a waterborne acrylic coating system prior a natural weathering for 5.5 years according to EN 927-3 (2020). By frequent evaluations, the impact of chemical modifications ...
L Emmerich, H Militz