IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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A case study on quality control on telephone poles as a cost saving tool in Tanzania
1987 - IRG/WP 3418
A sample of 28 CCA treated Eucalyptus poles from a lot of 2,000 poles awaiting delivery to the field, was studied to reveal the quality of treatment. Results showed a product of very poor quality. Average figures for penetration and retention were 8.4 mm and 2.2 kg/m³; these results are 66% and 91% below the required standards, respectively. Consequences of such results are estimated to amount to...
K K Murira


Wood preservation in the USA
1982 - IRG/WP 3215
This report is a comprehensive survey of the status of the wood preservation field in the U.S.A. at the start of the 1980s. The importance of wood preservation is discussed and its industry described. Various statistics and analyses regarding the use of treated wood have been compiled. Both pressure and non-pressure applications have been covered, as well as remedial treatments and pest control op...
D D Nicholas, R Cockcroft


Sustainability Through New Technologies for Enhanced Wood Durability. COST Action E37 – A New Action in the Forestry Domain
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40293
The main overall objective of the action is to concentrate on the contribution of wood durability on the sustainability through the development of systems for quality assurance and perfoamance of modified wood and wood products as alternatives to wood treated with traditional preservatives. By this means it seeks to improve and consequently increase the cost-effective use of sustainably produced E...
R-D Peek


LCA applied for wooden products
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50059
This paper presents some of the international developments within ISO and SETAC to standardize and harmonize LCA methodologies. In this framework it is also important to be aware of the problems that companies have to generate and validate data for the complete product chain from cradle to grave. This concerns problems in nomenclature of substances and processes, system boundaries, allocation prob...
A Kloppenburg, A Van Dam


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


Economical analysis of the chemicals used on remediation copper, chromium and arsenic from out of service CCA-treated utility poles in Turkey
2004 - IRG/WP 04-50217
There are 20.7 million hectare forested area in Turkey. However, the wood products supplies do not meet demand. One of the wooden products is the utility poles. In Turkey, impregnation of utility poles has been started since 1960's and 5 million utility poles have been used until today since then. Although life time of the utility poles may vary depending on climatic conditions, average s...
E D Gezer, D Toksoy, Ü C Yildiz


Preservative treatment of different thatching materials for low cost housing
1999 - IRG/WP 99-40144
Preservative treatment were made in seven different roofing materials with Copper-Chrome-Boron (CCB) at different concentration by soaking process. These were paddy straw, wheat straw, jute stick, sungrass, ulu grass, sugercane leaf and Nipa fruticans. It was observed that retention of preservative chemicals varies from species to species at the same concentration. From the service test it was obs...
K Akhter, M Younusuzzaman, M H Chowdhury


A new approach to the maintenance of wooden railway sleepers. (Final Report)
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3724
The micro-environment of wooden railway sleepers was investigated to assess their condition, to determine the necessary treatment, repair and replacement criteria. In the final report the secondary preservative treatment of wooden sleepers with solid boron rods is discussed; the complete development of an in-situ, non-destructive test method based on structural dynamics analysis is described. The ...
W Beauford, A M Brown, D J Dickinson


Information from the COIPM wood group. (With Appendix: Préserver les matériaux en milieu marin sauvegarder l'environment marin telles sont la vocation et la mission du C.O.I.P.M.)
1989 - IRG/WP 4156
During the last COIPM Meeting, up to date information on cooperative work to test the resistance of plastic wrapping for pilings were submitted and discussed. In 1986 untreated wood samples wrapped with shrinkable polyolefin sleeves were submerged in 9 stations, situated in temperate and tropical waters. After 1 or 2 years of immersion the samples showed no sign of penetration by marine borers and...
A Gambetta


The use of low cost X-ray fluorescence instruments in the determination of copper chromium and arsenic in preservative treated wood
1987 - IRG/WP 2278
Internal quality control in timber treatment plants can be pursued by analysis of preservative treatment solutions and treated timber. Treaters must proceed with costly and lengthy analyses through analytical laboratories. An alternative approach for the timber treater, is to use low cost analysers (L.C.A.'s) based upon x-ray fluorescence. Detailed comparisons have been made between stand...
J Norton, L E Leightley


COST Action E31: Management of Recovered Wood
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-26
The COST (European Co-operation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research) Action E31 (2002 to 2006) is a multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of information on “Management of Recovered Wood” with the main objective to improve the European management of recovered wood towards a higher common technical, economic and environmental standard. Researchers of 20 European countries – A...
G Jungmeier, B Hillring, A Frühwald, M Humar


COST Action E37. Sustainability Through New Technologies For Enhanced Wood Durability -
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40417
The main overall objective of the Action was to concentrate on the contribution of wood durability to sustainability through the development of systems for quality assurance and performance classification of modified wood and wood products as alternatives to wood treated with traditional preservatives. By this means it seeked to improve and consequently to increase the cost-effective use of compon...
R-D Peek, J Van Acker


Report on COST E37 Round Robin Tests – Comparison of results from laboratory and field tests
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20535
A round robin involving 15 European participants was set up in 2006. The round robin consists of both a field test according to the double layer test method and a laboratory test with two different preconditioning methods. When comparing EN 84 preconditioning (two weeks water leaching) with natural preconditioning (1 year in field, above ground) according to CEN/TS 15397, no significant difference...
M Westin, E Conti, J Creemers, P-O Flæte, A Gellerich, I Irbe, M Klamer, B Mazela, E Melcher, R Möller, L Nunes, S Palanti, L Reinprecht, E Suttie, H Viitanen


COST Action FP0904 – Increasing the Understanding of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Wood Behaviour and Processing
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40646
The polymeric components of wood and its porous structure allow its properties to be modified under the combined effects of temperature, moisture and mechanical action – so-called Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) treatments. Various types of processing techniques, including high temperature steam with or without an applied mechanical force, can be utilised to enhance wood properties, to produce eco...
D Jones, P Navi


Cost effective extension of service life of bridge tie (sleepers) - Effectively applying borate during Boulton conditioning and treatment with copper naphthenate
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30637
Current longevity of creosote treated wooden bridge ties in the South Eastern US is about 15 to 25 years, which is well below of the average service life of 33-50 years of railroad ties. Such short service life increases costs associated with maintenance of railroads including bridge down time for tie replacement as well as the cost for the new ties themselves. Because of this, many railroads are...
J D Lloyd, T Chambers, J-W Kim


Bamboo: A poor man’s timber
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10852
Bamboo, known as poor man’s timber in the past gained some importance in the last decade when TIFAC under Department of Science & Technology and Ministry of Agriculture awoke to find a better future for this unique gift of nature. Until then it was considered a good for nothing grass suitable only for making paper and building effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath year after year at Dussehr...
S Kumar


Introduction of the COST FP 1303 Cooperative Performance Test
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20567
COST Action FP 1303 “Performance of bio-based building materials” successfully started in October 2013 and an ambitious program was set up for the four year programme. COST Actions provide an excellent opportunity for collaborative research, e.g. in the frame of Round Robin tests. The idea of this respective test was to distribute a fairly simple test set up to as many places in Europe as poss...
M Humar, C Brischke, L Meyer, B Lesar, N Thaler, D Jones, S Bardage, C Belloncle, J Van den Bulcke, J M Abascal, G Alfredsen, D Baisch, B Brunnhuber, G Cofta, E Grodås, E Frühwald Hansson, M Irle, H Kallakas, J Kers, M Klamer, P Larsson Brelid, A B Maider, K C Mahnert, E Melcher, R Möller, M Noël, L Nunes, G A Ormondroyd, S Palanti, N Pfabigan, A Pilgård, A O Rapp, P Schumacher, E Suttie, T Teppand, M Touza, J Van Acker


Performance of bio-based building materials – viewpoints from the first year of COST Action FP1303
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20572
Maintaining and expanding the market potential for bio-based building products in indoor and outdoor construction uses remains a key activity for industries in the forestry and biotechnological sector, particularly in Europe. Whilst there are ongoing activities within IRG for collecting and populating a database on performance on wood, the performance data for many other (i.e. non-wood) "environme...
D Jones


Wood Protection and Environmental Performance of Products - Impacts COST Action FP1407 Aims to Bring
2016 - IRG/WP 16-50323
Though many aspects of wood modification (chemical, thermal, impregnation) treatments are known, the fundamental influence of the process on product performance, the environment, and end of life scenarios remain unknown. To contribute to the low-carbon economy and sustainable development, it is essential to integrate interactive assessment of process parameters, developed product properties, and e...
A Kutnar


10 year Report on COST E37 Round Robin Tests – Comparison of results from laboratory and field tests
2017 - IRG/WP 17-30718
A round robin involving 15 European participants was set up in 2006. The round robin consisted of both a field test according to the double layer test method and a laboratory test with two different preconditioning methods. The laboratory test results were reported in an earlier IRG paper (IRG/WP13-20535) but are included also in this paper in order to facilitate the comparison with the field test...
M Westin, E Conti, J Creemers, P-O Flæte, A Gellerich, I Irbe, M Klamer, E Melcher, R Moeller, L Nunes, S Palanti, L Reinprecht, E Suttie, H Viitanen


COST FP 1303 Cooperative Performance Test – Results after two years outdoor exposure
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20620
COST Action FP 1303 ‘Performance of Bio-Based Building Materials’ started in October 2013 and an ambitious program was set up for four years. Among this a collaborative field test was planned. The idea of the cooperative performance test was to distribute a fairly simple test set up to as many places in Europe as possible in order to collect performance data reflecting the full range of climat...
B Lesar, M Humar, C Brischke, L Meyer-Veltrup, D Jones, N Thaler, J M Abascal, G Alfredsen, B Brunnhuber, E Grodås, M Irle, J Kers, M Klamer, K-C Mahnert, E Melcher, S Palanti, M Noël, E Suttie, N Pfabigan, M Touza


Dual Borate and Copper Naphthenate Treatment of Bridge Timbers:- Potential Performance Enhancements and Cost Savings
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40797
Dual treatment technology combining diffusible preservatives with oil borne preservatives, widely used for crossties in the USA, has now also been commercialized with bridge ties/timbers. In order to understand the implications of these changes, the historic service life of creosote treated bridge timbers in northern and southeastern USA were considered as well as field test data for both creosote...
J Lloyd, C Brischke, R Bennett, A Taylor


Developments within COST Action FP1303 related to the modification of wood
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40847
COST Action FP 1303 (Performance of bio-based building materials) was established in 2013 with the main aim to improve the knowledge on the performance of bio-based materials used as building products and the assessment of factors influencing these, with the aim of increasing their service life. This Action has helped in understanding the interlinked relationships between durability, product aesth...
D Jones