IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Your search resulted in 47 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.


Commercial potential of the four-cycle method for the impregnation of green beech sleepers in Yugoslavia
1975 - IRG/WP 347
This paper was presented to the Conference on Wood Protection held in Sarajevo (Yugoslavia) in 1973. The paper was based partially on the report prepared by J. Struhar and G. F. Franciosi, who were appointed in 1972 as FAO consultants to demonstrate the new impregnation process for green beech sleepers in Yugoslavia. The so-called 4-cycle method was developed at the State Forest Research Institute...
N Vidovic


Laboratory tests on artificial weathering of Quercus rubra crossties
1986 - IRG/WP 2252
Clear red oak (Quercus rubra) blocks were used to evaluate various types of accelerated aging tests including boil, steaming, and cyclic weathering. It was found that the repeated vacuum and pressure treatment of wood in water, steaming, oven-dry, and freezing appeared to be most effective in reducing the MOE in compression and hardness modules of wood specimens. Red oak crossties which were press...
P Chow, A J Reinschmidt, E J Barenberg, S L Lewis


Will political initiatives stop the use of preservative-treated wood in Sweden?
1990 - IRG/WP 3578
The Swedish government has initiated several investigations on how to reduce the use of different chemicals. Among these chemicals are creosote, arsenic, chromium and organotin. A special investigation was carried out concerning wood preservatives resulting in different proposals on how to reduce the use of preservatives and preservative treated wood. The most important proposals were an "environm...
J Jermer, M-L Edlund


Recycling CCA-treated poles with Charterm
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-17
After 10 years of Research and Development, the first “Chartherm” industrial unit is now operating since nearly half a year, thanks to Thermya SA, engineering company, current owner of all the “Chartherm” process Patents and Rights. In accord with the recycling contracts signed with several French major companies, the “Chartherm” plant, located near Bordeaux, recycles every day severa...
J-S Hery


Further progress towards a cleaner creosote treatment - Summarised report
1984 - IRG/WP 3304
This document provides an up-dated progress report on our development of pigment emulsified creosote (PEC) used as a cleaner alternative to conventional high temperature creosote. A range of commodities (both hardwood and softwood) has now been satisfactorily treated in pilot plant and full scale commercial operations. Both brown (PEC 30B) and white (PEC 30W) formulations have been used. In additi...
H Greaves, C-W Chin, J B Watkins


Investigations of the treatability of various commercially significant Turkish timbers
1976 - IRG/WP 370 E
Timbers which naturally deteriorate quickly can only be used commercially when their life is increased by the use of chemical treatments. The treatment of the timber can only be planned on a regular basis when the treatability of the wood is known. The purpose of the experiments was therefore to determine to what extent the various types of wood could be sufficiently impregnated. The question of t...
R Ilhan


Wood Preservation in the Federal Republic of Germany
1981 - IRG/WP 3157
The report gives some statistics about the forest products industries in the Federal Republic and a general review of the wood preservation industry. The trend in the use of wooden railway sleepers is decreasing, as is the use of poles. The sale of other pre-treated timber, mainly fence posts, palisades and domestic fences, is however slightly increasing. Apart from the use of pressure treatments ...
R Cockcroft, H Willeitner


Borates as wood preserving compounds: The status of research in the United States
1989 - IRG/WP 3542
This paper describes the extensive, on-going cooperative research effort among government and university research laboratories and industry to fully evaluate the potential for borates as wood preservatives in the United States. Research is discussed in terms of laboratory evaluations, field testing and mill trials, pilot plant pressure treatment studies, and remedial treatments. Future research pl...
H M Barnes, T L Amburgey, L H Williams, J J Morrell


Statement on laws relating to wood preservation in Brazil
1977 - IRG/WP 399
A set of copies of the laws relating to wood preservation in Brazil (in Portuguese) have been deposited with the IRG Secretariat. Generally speaking, it can be said that all public constructions have to comply with the laws that have been laid down. All organisations (governmental and private) which produce or apply wood preservatives are registered. The private sector is not obliged to abide by t...
P Karstedt


Treatment of wood by diffusion of salts
1976 - IRG/WP 368
A brief survey is given on the treatment of wood by diffusion of salts. The compounds used for this process, mainly boron and fluorine compounds, are mentioned and the factors influencing diffusion described. The main pre-condition is a high moisture content of the wood of above 40%. Fields of application are fresh roundwood, remedial treatment of poles and sleepers, preservation of posts and espe...
G Becker


Wood preservation research in Tanzania: Priorities and challenges
1988 - IRG/WP 3462
Tanzania provides some of the highest rates of wood deterioration in service leading to alarming economic losses and yet no serious concern is shown in search for solutions to the problem. The paper attempts to point out some of the priority areas in the field of wood preservation research that demand urgent attention if timber is to be used judiciously in this country. An account is given of the ...
K K Murira, R Cockcroft


Survey of North American practice in conditioning forest products before preservative treatment
1972 - IRG/WP 308
Seasoning requirements for the wide range of forest products which are treated with preservatives and fire retardants must be capable of dealing with a very complex set of conditions which are summarized under a number of variables including type and hazard of end use, the most effective distribution of preservative, a wide range of cross sectional dimensions, the possibility of seasoning by a ran...
J Rak, T S McKnight


Survey of practical methods for conditioning of forest products before preservative treatment
1971 - IRG/WP 39
The seasoning of forest products is undertaken for a wide range of end uses and is becoming increasingly required for applications and building construction and secondary manufacturing industries. A wide range of applications of new technology and specifically required seasoning schedules is being actively developed for such requirements, but less attention has been given to the means by which woo...
J Rak, T S McKnight


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


Comparison of gauge and assay retention in crossties treated with copper naphthenate
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40667
Creosote has been the most widely used preservative for wooden railroad crossties or sleepers for over 100 years. Alternative preservatives such as copper naphthenate (CuN) have been shown to provide equivalent performance against decay fungi and wood destroying insects; however, the use and specification of CuN involves an education process for treaters and railroad customers alike. One differe...
J Brient, H Tomlinson, J Hughes


Best handling practices for wood crossties (sleepers)
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40714
Wooden crossties (sleepers) dominate the rail industry in the USA. Most ties are hardwood treated with oil-borne preservatives using pressure treatment. Incipient decay (called ‘stack burn’) commonly develops during the pre-treatment drying process and reduces tie performance and longevity. Practices to minimize stack burn and enhance wooden tie performance are discussed as an aid to non-wood ...
N Irby, J Lloyd, A Taylor, J Watt


Borate and Copper Naphthenate Dual Treatment of Bridge Timbers-Borate movement over time
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40795
Preservative treated wooden bridge ties in the South Eastern USA have a service life of about 15 to 20 years, which falls well below the average service life of 40 years of railroad cross ties (sleepers). It has been shown that cross tie life is significantly extended using borate dual treatment and this is now commercialized in bridge timbers using borate inserts. In previous research, it was dem...
J-W Kim, J D Lloyd


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


Penetration behaviour of different hydrophobic carrier substances for oily wood preservatives in Beech and Scots pine sapwood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40804
The use of creosote as a wood preservative has a long history. Current areas of application are railway sleepers, transmission poles, timber bridges and marine applications. If the approval for creosote will not be prolonged, alternative wood preservatives will be needed. As the penetration behaviour after pressure impregnation of different alternative oily products in this fields of application i...
M Starck, A Gellerich, H Militz


Visual assessment of longitudinal wheel timbers and assessing the feasibility of extending wheel timber service life in the UK railway network
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20651
Timber has been a versatile building material for centuries and during the start of the Railway Age in the nineteenth century it was in considerable demand for use in the railway network, particularly bridge building. Timber is still in service and widely used throughout the UK railway network. The resilience and favourable strength to weight ratio and its relative ease of fabrication make it an...
J R Williams


2018 Railway Tie Survey and the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rulemaking Activities
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50352
This presentation will discuss a survey AAR recently completed on the management of used crossties in the North American rail industry. Approximately 23 million new wood ties are purchased and installed in the North American rail network every year. The presentation will show the number and percentage of ties which are managed by reused in track, reuse in commercial, agricultural or residential la...
R Fronczak, S Smith


An Update on the Status of Industrial Heavy-Duty Preservatives in Europe
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30762
Creosote has been used for over 150 years for preservation of heavy duty industrial timbers such as railway sleepers, utility poles, and agricultural posts. The regulatory regimes in place today across Europe (eg EU & GB Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)) require a detailed assessment of the environmental and human health properties of wood preservatives at both the active substance and product l...
S Uphill, H Griffiths, M Giannuzzi, A Hughes


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