IRG Documents Database and Compendium


Search and Download IRG Documents:



Between and , sort by


Displaying your search results

Your search resulted in 25 documents.


Soft-rot ultrastructure
1981 - IRG/WP 1138 (+ Addendum)
The stages of growth of soft-rot fungal hyphae in birch cell walls has been studied using transmission electron microscopy. These observations are compared with time-lapsed cinemicrographic studies on infection and cavity development within wood cell walls which show a start-stop hyphal growth pattern. The fine structure of hyphae during each stage of the decay process shows that hyphae penetratin...
M D C Hale, R A Eaton


Soft rot cavity widening - A consideration of the kinetics
1984 - IRG/WP 1227
Studies on the micromorphology of soft rot cavity formation by Phialophora hoffmannii in birch using time-lapse cinemicrography are briefly outlined. A mathematical model is constructed to describe the cavity widening process, particularly changes in the surface area of a hypothetical cavity during enlargement. On comparison with observed data it is concluded that the rate of cavity widening is de...
M D C Hale, R A Eaton


Efficacy of anhydrides as wood protection chemicals - II. Performance against soft rot fungi
1998 - IRG/WP 98-30174
Pine sapwood modified with various anhydrides and with butyl isocyanate was tested for its resistance to soft rot decay. Small stakes were exposed for 20 months in unsterile soil in a fungal cellar test. Wood modified with butyl isocyanate performed better than any of the anhydrides tested, with a threshold level of protection (less than 3% weight loss) at 12% weight percent gain (WPG). Stakes ac...
S C Forster, M D C Hale, G R Williams


Heat treatment of wood strands for OSB production: Effect on the mechanical properties, water absorption and dimensional stability
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40238
The effect of heat treatment on the mechanical and physical properties of commercial OSB strands was evaluated. Heat treatment was applied under inert atmospheric conditions to wood strands. The aim of this study was to examine the heat treatment parameters to achieve significant reduction of thickness swelling (upon exposure to moisture in service) without causing excessive reductions in stren...
G J Goroyias, M D C Hale


The effect of high temperature and long pressing time on the dimensional stability and decay resistance of OSB
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40237
The exterior use of OSB is restricted because when it is exposed to wet conditions swelling, loss of internal bond strength (IB) and decay occur. In this study an alternative process of pressing which results in the production of dimensionally stable and a more decay resistant strandboard was investigated. Boards were pressed at elevated temperatures for prolonged pressing cycles and their physi...
G J Goroyias, M D C Hale


Determination of physical properties of wood by Novel Guide
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40345
In empirical and theoretical determination of physical properties of wood, a schematic guide has been developed (as a novel guide) for the purpose of bringing facilities to researchers with a processing quantity in terms of data compilation. In this article physical properties of wood have been briefly described in respect to their effect on impregnation process, and technical information has been...
I Usta, M D Hale


Effects of artificial UV weathering and soft rot decay on heat treated wood
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40302
Oil and inert gas oven heat treated pine wood strips 100 µm thick were mildly heat treated (200°C, 30 mins linseed oil, 120 mins oven). Following treatment, specimens were exposed to UV weathering (300 hours) and decay by the soft rot fungus, Chaetomium globosum. The effects of each treatment were assessed by zero span tensile testing, microscopy and by FTIR. Tensile testing of heat treated s...
M D C Hale, S C Ghosh, M J Spear


Efficacy of linear chain carboxylic acid anhydrides as wood protection chemicals
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30295
This paper presents an assessment of the effectiveness of linear chain carboxylic acid anhydrides namely, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric and hexanoic anhydride, in improving the decay resistance of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra Schneid) sapwood. Wood-anhydride bond formation was verified by the increase in sample weight and volume. A brown rot fungus [Coniophora puteana (Schum.:Fr)] was selec...
A N Papadopoulos, M D C Hale, C A S Hill


Effects of seed origin and site on both wood density and longitudinal fluid uptake of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) with height in the tree grown in the United Kingdom
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40226
The variation in density and longitudinal fluid uptake was investigated in short specimens of wood taken from eight seed origins of Sitka spruce trees grown at two sites in the UK. Five trees of each seed origin at each site were sampled at three heights (1, 2 and 3 m above ground level). The density of the samples decreased with increasing height within the stem. This corresponded with increasin...
I Usta, M D C Hale


Efficacy of anhydrides as wood protection chemicals
1997 - IRG/WP 97-30162
Wood samples treated with anhydrides of various compositions have been examined for their decay resistance and moisture behaviour. For this purpose two brown rot fungi (Coniophora puteana and Gloeophyllum trabeum) and two white rot fungi (Trametes versicolor and Pycnoporus sanguineus) were used in conventional and modified soil block tests. The modified soil block tests conformed to the method as ...
S C Forster, M D C Hale, G R Williams


A novel guide for the determination of the physical properties of wood including kiln drying and full-cell preservative treatment
2004 - IRG/WP 04-20298
An ideal flow chart for the sequential experimental determination of a range of physical properties relevant to wood drying and subsequent preservation was designed as a novel guide to assist wood scientists. In this manner, data assembly and experimental processing are shown. This was designed according to experience and published literature. Aspects emphasised in this review were the physical p...
I Usta, M D C Hale


Variation in natural durability of British grown Douglas fir ((Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Part I. Effect of density and growth rate
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10445
Seed origin trials of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in Britain have provided important information on growth differences between origins (Lines, 1987), but the variation in wood properties between origins has not been reported. The present paper describes a study of the variation in natural durability against two brown rot fungi (Coniophora puteana and Postia (Poria) placenta) and in a fung...
S Akhter, M D C Hale


Soil-bed decay resistance evaluation of strandboards treated with preservative at different points of the manufacture process after 18 months exposure
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40230
Strandboards were treated with a copper-boron water-based preservative at different points of manufacture process namely, green strand diffusion, vacuum, spray application in the resin blender and post manufacture heat and cold quench. Preservative was applied to achieve five different retentions (0, 1.5, 3, 6, 12 kg m-3). The modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity were assessed before expo...
G J Goroyias, M D C Hale


Effect of point of preservative addition on the mechanical and physical properties of strandboard treated with Tanalith 3485
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40152
Preservative has been added to a PF bonded strandboard at various different stages in the manufacturing cycle and the physical and mechanical properties of the boards have been evaluated (modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, thickness swelling, water absorption, internal bond strength, and shear strength). Preservative addition has been examined at five different stages namely green strand d...
G J Goroyias, M D C Hale


Observation on the performance of CCB and creosote treated fence posts after 18 years of exposure in Greece
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30288
The effect of 18 years exposure on toughness of CCB and creosote combination treated pine was examined. Vacuum CCB treated fence posts were subsequently treated at their lowest part (ground contact) with creosote using the open hot and cold tank process. After 18 years exposure under warm dry temperate climatic conditions in Greece, samples were taken from the above ground contact, top, middle a...
J A Kakaras, G J Goroyias, A N Papadopoulos, M D C Hale


Variation in natural durability of British grown Douglas fir ((Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Part II. Effect of extractive contents and taxifolin
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10446
The previous paper (Part I: Effect of density and growth rate) described the variation in natural durability of 4 Douglas fir (DF) seed origins (Darrington, J. Landing, Naselle and Hawkinsville) in a pure culture decay test and fungal cellar test. The pure culture tests were performed against two brown rot fungi (Coniophora puteana and Postia placenta). In the fungal cellar test soft rot was the p...
S Akhter, M D C Hale


A comparison of analytical and visual techniques used for assessment of weathering properties of chromium and copper azole treated timber
1994 - IRG/WP 94-20023
The weathering properties of preservative treated timber were studied by measuring surface lignin loss and by microscopic examination after weathering, and results were related to qualitative assessments of visual appearance after weathering. Measurement of relative rates of delignification of untreated and preservative treated timber obtained by FTIR analysis, and weight loss determined on thin v...
J A Cornfield, M D C Hale, G Fettis


Amenability of radial permeability of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) as affected by aspects of cell ends in uniseriate ray parenchyma tissue
2003 - IRG/WP 03-40252
The principal objective of this article was to recognise and understand the amenability of ray parenchyma cell ends (end platform) in uniseriate ray tissue to influence the radial permeability of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) by examination of most (Queen Charlotte Islands in Rhondda, South Wales) and the least (South Oregon in Dalby, North-East England) seed origins that grown in ...
I Usta, M D C Hale


Assessment of the Envelope Effect of Three Hot Oil Treatments: Resistance to Decay by Coniophora puteana and Postia placenta
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40344
Timber of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) was treated in hot linseed oil, rapeseed oil and a proprietary resin derived from linseed oil. The samples were immersed in oil or resin under reduced pressure at temperatures of 180°C and 200°C. Very high uptakes of the oils or resin were recorded for pine, while spruce showed lower weight percent gains, below...
M J Spear, C A S Hill, S F Curling, D Jones, M D C Hale


Multivariate analysis of infrared spectra for the prediction of the mechanical performance and dimensional stability of thermally modified wood
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40367
The use of calibrated mid-infrared Fourier transform (FTIR) spectroscopy for predicting the main bending strength parameters of thermally modified wood is described for the first time. The analysis is based on the handling of OSC-filtered FTIR data from control and treated wood samples, using partial least squares (PLS) regression. Sets of Norway spruce, Scots pine and Beech wood samples were th...
M M González-Peña, M D C Hale


Field Liners as physical barriers to prevent wooden utility pole decay in soil: An accelerated field simulation trial
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20384
Field Liners (FL’s), plastic sleeves used to protect in-ground wooden poles from fungal and termite damage, have been tested before as physical barriers to prevent contact between soil and wood and to retain wood preservative treatment. These earlier studies concentrated mostly on creosote preserved poles and early generation FL’s which were cumbersome in their application. The newer generatio...
A R Howgrave-Graham, L J Cookson, T Hale


Effects of CCB on wood strength of Eastern spruce (Picea orientalis L.)
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40416
The effects of CCB (chromate copper boron) on the static bending properties of Eastern spruce (Picea orientalis L.) based on MOE (modulus of elasticity) and MOR (modulus of rupture) were evaluated after full-cell vacuum/pressure treatment using a 3.0 % concentration followed by kiln-drying at 15 and 30 % moisture contents with heating the preservative at 30 and 40 ºC. The results showed that MOE ...
I Usta, M Hale


Effects of concentration and temperature of CCA and CCB on wood strength of Turkish fir (Abies bornmulleriana Mattf.)
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40450
The purpose of this study was to present evidence for the effects of concentration and temperature of solutions of water-borne preservatives (chromated copper arsenate, CCA and chromated copper boron, CCB) on the static bending properties (modulus of elasticity, MOE and modulus of rupture, MOR) of Turkish fir (Abies bornmulleriana Mattf.). Wood samples were mechanically tested after a mild full ce...
I Usta, M Hale


The effect of chemical changes on the wood-moisture relationships in thermally-modified wood
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40473
Small specimens of three wood species were thermally modified following twenty schedules in the 190-245°C temperature range for treatment times between 0.3 and 16 h. Five wood-moisture relations were subsequently determined, namely: anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), movement, hygroscopicity (adsorption and desorption), transversal swelling (radial and tangential directions), and equilibrium moistur...
M M González-Peña, M D C Hale


Effect of bio-resin from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) on decay resistance properties of wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40649
This study assesses the decay resistance properties of bio-resin modified wood against decay fungi of the Basidiomycota according to the EN 113 protocol. A bio-resin system was developed by ozonolysis process from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), a naturally occurring mixture of phenolics. Small wood blocks from sapwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) and Gmelina...
M Ashaduzzaman, M D Hale, V Tverezovskiy, G A Ormondroyd