Natural durability of wood tested in different environments in Northern Europe

IRG/WP 11-10747

P O Flæte, G Alfredsen, F G Evans

Moisture is often recognised as a key factor regarding the long time performance of wooden products, and one of the main challenges for timber products is to predict accurate service life in use class 3 (not covered above ground) and use class 4 (in soil or fresh water contact). A range of durability classification studies have been performed both in field and laboratory. But for several wood species information regarding the durability in use class 3 is lacking. Also, there is still a lack of studies comparing replicate wood products in different field exposure situations. This study evaluates the natural durability of different North European wood species in two different climates and in two different use classes. The wood species were compared with imported species and two preservative treatments. The overall picture shows a higher decay rating for wood species tested in ground contact compared with the results from the above ground “Double layer tests”. Moreover, the woods tested in Western Norway are more decayed than those tested in Eastern Norway. These findings can be explained by higher decay risk in use class 4 than in use class 3, and higher decay risk in a humid climate (Western Norway) than in a dry climate (Eastern Norway). The results indicate similar ranking of the durability of the wood species regardless of the environment they have been exposed to. The results from a linear regression show that MOE-loss of the mini-stakes after three years describes 70 % of the variation in decay rating of the “Double layer” stakes after six years exposure in Western Norway. This result strongly indicates that MOE-loss can be a prospective tool for rapid field testing of natural durability of wood.


Keywords: climate, double layer, field trials, natural durability, modulus of elasticity, use class comparison

Conference: 11-05-08/12 Queenstown, New Zealand


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