IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Extending the useful life of creosoted electricity distribution poles in service
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-16
Creosoted transmission poles have provided good service over many decades in a whole range of environments. The use of save biocides for secondary treatments has the potential to extend the life of such poles. These techniques, together with a full understanding of the modes of failure, make it possible to establish new strategies to further improve the environmental benefits of treated wooden pol...
D J Dickinson, B Calver


Some observations on causes of failure of preservative treated natural round transmission poles in Nigeria
1977 - IRG/WP 291
Treated natural round transmission poles in Nigeria have been discovered to be attacked underground as early as two years after planting. Termites and rot fungi attack the inner tissues and leave a pattern characteristic for the species of the pole. Tectona grandis, Nauclea diderrichii and Wide Pore pine, the major species for transmission poles in Nigeria show these attacks. A form of termite shi...
M A Odeyinde


Observations on the failure of anti-sapstain treated timber under non-drying conditions
1990 - IRG/WP 1437
A range of bacteria and yeasts were isolated from antisapstain treated timber and fresh sawdust. Solution samples containing 100 ppm of TCMTB in a nutrient medium were inoculated with these organisms and incubated at 25°C for 5 days. The levels of TCMTB remaining in solution were determined by HPLC analysis after this time. Results indicated high losses of active ingredient for a range of organis...
G R Williams


Soil-bed studies (Part 3): A cause of failure of multisalt preservatives following soil-bed exposure
1983 - IRG/WP 3261
P Vinden, J F Levy, D J Dickinson


Polyflavonoid tannins - From a cause of CCA soft-rot failure to the "missing link" between lignin and microdistribution theories
1986 - IRG/WP 3359
Polyflavonoid tannins are proven to be fast-reacting with CCA solutions and hence, to be strong competitors of the structural wood constituents for fixation of CCA preservatives. The consequence of this effect is that even relatively small amounts of tannin cause severe undertreatment of the structural wood constituents which in turn badly affects the long term durability of CCA-treated timber. Th...
A Pizzi, W E Conradie, M Bariska


HCB - a new preservative combination for wood pole maintenance
1996 - IRG/WP 96-30122
New combination of heavy creosoted boron (HCB) applied on hardwood and softwood logs at different moisture content revealed successful diffusion of boron in all sapwoods within 7 days and in all sapwoods plus hardwoods within 15 days. The new cost effective paste sterilizes wood through diffusion and suitable for pole maintenance at groundline and above groundline e.g. cut ends, drilled holes, woo...
A K Lahiry


The possible significance of the lignin content and lignin type on the performance of CCA-treated timber in ground contact
1988 - IRG/WP 1357
The lignin in wood samples of Alstonia scholaris, Octomeles sumatrana and a Simaruba species have been analysed. These timbers are characterised by a high lignin content and low syringyl:guaiacyl ratios. Decay tests with two soft rot fungi showed that the timbers were less susceptible than timbers with a low lignin content and higher syringyl:guaiacyl ratios. Numerous data for field performance of...
T Nilsson, J R Obst, G F Daniel


Inadequacies in preservative retention and formulation as contributory causes of premature failure of CCA-treated vineyard posts
1984 - IRG/WP 3280
Analyses of severely decayed or failed vineyard posts and examination of stake test data on effectiveness of copper-chrome-arsenate (CCA) preservatives have suggested two contributory causes of premature failure of vineyard posts: 1. Preservative retentions in posts are such that after 15 years' exposure some decay is inevitable. 2. The high arsenic, low chrome formulations with which the...
M E Hedley


Biostatic film as a primary treatment against pole failure in soil
1995 - IRG/WP 95-40053
Field liners of low density polyethylene (LDPE) film applied as primary treatment of soil-contact surfaces of creosote-treated poles prevented their detoxification and premature failure by establishing hurdles against microbiological colonisation. These hurdles include low water activity, low oxygen tension and nutrient limitations. Moreover, under conditions of high soil moisture, field trials sh...
A A W Baecker, M Behr


Premature failure of treated timber in wharfs in Papua New Guinea, attributed to defects in design
1991 - IRG/WP 4158
The performance of timber in wharfs in Papua New Guinea has been monitored for a number of years. Premature failure of wharf structures was found in many cases to be due to defects in design rather than ineffective preservative treatment. Above-water timbers were found to be prone to severe checking followed by decay. Protection for the end grain of pile tops and the limiting of radial checking in...
S M Cragg


Cellular and fractural failure after supercritical fluid impregnation of four wood species
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10503
Supercritical fluids (SCFs) have been investigated for delivering biocides into sawn wood. Pressure differentials during treatment may exceed the compressive or tensile strength perpendicular to grain, creating a potential for transverse deformations that exceed elastic strain limits. Wood treated by SCF processing with CO2, a potential biocide carrier, was inspected macroscopically and microscopi...
M E Anderson, R J Leichti, J J Morrell


A non-pressure method of protection based on hurdle theory to control the spectrum of internal environmental factors which affect the decay of poles in soil contact
1993 - IRG/WP 93-20005
A field trial was conducted to establish whether superficial barrier linings on poles in soil contact could function as environmental hurdles against the growth of biological agents and thus provide preventative methodology to preclude premature failure of vineyard poles under flood-irrigation. Assessment after 52 weeks exposure to the prevailing conditions and sub-tropical environment showed that...
A A W Baecker


Premature failure of CCA treated vineyard posts from brown rot
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10016
A survey of CCA (AWPA Type C) treated posts used as grape vine trellis supports, to determine the extent and type of decay was carried out at a terraced vineyard in the Hawkes Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand. Of 357 posts examined out of a total of 970 in the vineyard, 47% had moderate to severe decay or had failed, 20% had established decay, 10% had a trace of decay and 23% had no s...
R N Wakeling, A P Singh


Failure of overhead power transmission and telecommunication poles in Tanzania: Causes, preventive and remedial measures
1988 - IRG/WP 3465
Unless measures are considered urgently to combat massive pole failures occuring in service, it is likely that wooden poles may soon become unpopular. Consequently, pole users may be forced to use costlier alternatives such as underground cables and concrete or steel poles. In trying to countercheck this trend, this paper names the main agents of pole failure, discusses different models of pole fa...
K K Murira


Adequate preservative treatment of kiln dried Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Acacia mangium for tropical and subtropical wood poles
1996 - IRG/WP 96-40075
The Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Acacia mangium round timbers kiln-dried at EMC and full cell pressure treated with CCA-C ensured requisite penetration and adequate dry retention (30 kg/m³ or 4% w/w). The sufficient inherent strength, seasoning property, treatability of sapwood and heartwood equivalent to 44% of radius, natural durability of heartwood, and field investigation on service performan...
A K Lahiry


Colonisation of painted wood by Aureobasidium pullulans - Analysis of features and consequences for failure in service
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10144
Wooden blocks of spruce were painted with different paint formulations. Water- and solvent-borne model and commercial paints were used. The painted wooden blocks were inoculated with a spore suspension of Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) Berkg. and placed in an environment of high humidity for 14 months. Different colonisation and growth patterns were observed on the different paint surfaces. The...
S L Bardage


Treatment groups and remedies for CCA treated hardwood and softwood poles
1999 - IRG/WP 99-40142
Different hardwood and softwood species from Bangladesh and Bhutan was investigated regarding density, green fiber stress, natural durability of heartwood and CCA treated sapwood, CCA treatability grades, sapwood thickness, and kiln-drying properties for long term use as electric poles. These properties along with the past service records for nineteen years, separated ten heardwood and five softwo...
A K Lahiry


Quantification of creosote migration down wooden poles and the prevention of its depletion during flood irrigation
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50032
Polyethylene field liners heat-shrunk onto soil-contact surfaces prevented decay of creosote-treated Eucalyptus grandis vineyard poles under flood-irrigation. The present work quantified losses of creosote from these poles after six and 24 months' service. After six months' service the mean creosote retention of unlined poles above the ground line was 12.62% (m/m dry wood), with ...
M Behr, A A W Baecker


The effect of oil-borne preservative treatments on the shear strength of FRP/wood composite adhesive bonds
2003 - IRG/WP 03-40265
Reinforcement of structural wood components with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) will enhance the beam’s strength, but actual data on long-term durability is sparse, not well documented or not readily accessible. In this study, bond properties of FRP-wood composite materials were investigated following treatment with creosote or copper naphthenate preservatives. The properties investigated inclu...
B Herzog, B Goodell, R Lopez-Anido


Continuous moisture measurement (CMM) to detect failure of moisture resistance
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20422
A wood coating system will fail to perform properly after a certain time of weathering. From that moment, the substrate is especially prone to fungal attack. Moisture plays a key role on weathering performance, wood protection efficacy and decay susceptibility of wood. Therefore, knowledge of the moisture dynamics of the applied wood protection is of significant importance in the prediction of the...
I De Windt, J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker


Analyses of premature failure of utility poles
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40584
In this study a total number of 18 utility poles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) impregnated with a copper-chromium containing preservative were investigated. They were part of different lower voltage transmission lines in the western part of Germany and failed before predicted minimum service life. All poles in this study were less than 15 years in use. The type of decay and fungi were evaluated...
S Bollmus, N Rangno, H Militz, A Gellerich


Quasi-in-situ durability tests on oak timber bridges
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20510
This study aims on developing a method for determination of wood durability on samples taken from real structures in service. Therefore quasi-in-situ durability tests have been conducted exemplarily on timber bridges made from English oak (Quercus robur L.). Drilling cores were found to be a feasible alternative to standard specimens for laboratory durability tests against pure cultures of Basidio...
C Brischke, C J Behnen, M-T Lenz, K Brandt, E Melcher


Statistical analysis of durability tests - Part 2: Principles of time-to-failure and application on field test data
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20512
Service life prediction is an important topic in wood research, especially with regard to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Both laboratory tests as well as in-service performance testing is therefore essential, in combination with proper monitoring and analysis tools. A crucial concept is variability and the incorporation of variability in tests and analysis. In this paper we focus on t...
J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, C Brischke, C R Welzbacher, A O Rapp, J Van Acker


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


Evaluation of timber bridges with special consideration of detail design
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40781
Since 1997 the use of wood in bridge construction has been increasingly criticized by the Hamburg federal state authority supposedly because of shortened service life due to decay. With regard to wood research, however, it is often suggested that use of timber is suitable for weathered structures as long as constructive protection measures will be observed. In order to unravel the reasons for the ...
K Robbers, J Fromm, E Melcher


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