The susceptibility of hardwood plywood to white rot

IRG/WP 08-40397

A Fojutowski, A Kropacz

The subject of the tests was resistance of veneer hardwood plywood to activity of pure culture of white rot fungus Trametes versicolor. The tested plywood was made with the use of the following glues: urea-formaldehyde (UF), melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) or phenol-formaldehyde (FF). 4, 12 and 15 mm thick plywood was tested. External veneer of the plywood was mostly alder and the inner veneer (core layers) birch and alder. The external and inner veneer of 12 mm thick plywood was exclusively meranti. The test included determination of mass loss caused by the fungus and bonding quality determination by shearing test before and after the fungus growth. Almost none of all tested plywood was resistant to decay caused by the fungus according to test based on EN 113. The results of fungi growth were mass losses of about 14 to 38% and very high reduction of bonding quality. According to EN 314-1 standard the bonding strength of plywood exposed to Trametes versicolor was only 19% to 46% of that of control plywood. Only 15mm thick FF plywood proved to be more resistant to fungal attack. During plywood testing no clear effect of increasing plywood humidity resulting from keeping the samples in uninoculated culture vessels on the strength reduction was observed, however some symptoms of reduction were noted.


Keywords: white rot, fungi, plywood, hardwood, decay, resistance, bonding quality

Conference: 08-05-25/29, Istanbul, Turkey


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