Your search resulted in 566 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Characterisation of fungal decay in cable car trestles in Svalbard
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11031
The Arctic will be strongly affected by climate change. In Svalbard the coal mining industry were established in the early 20th century. All man-made structures and sites dating before 1946 in Svalbard are protected by law and considered as cultural heritage. This included the massive cable car trestles that are constructed from untreated Norway spruce and mounted directly into the soil. We hereby...
G Alfredsen, L Ross, M Altgen, I A Yakovlev, A-C Flyen, M S Austigard, J Mattsson, N B Pedersen
On the use of miniaturized wood specimens in fungal decay experiments – mini-blocks versus EN 113 test specimens
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11044
Preliminary evaluation and classification of wood durability against decay fungi using laboratory monoculture experiments has been a longstanding practice because these tests offer quicker results than field tests. Various methods, including miniaturized specimen formats and different incubation periods, have been explored to expedite decay processes and assess wood preservation efficacy. The 'min...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen
Investigating moisture dynamics and fungal decay risk: integrating X-ray CT visualization and simulation benchmarks through a Fungal Control Unit
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11045
Wood is susceptible to fungal attack and over time the structural integrity can be compromised. This risk is of course strongly related to moisture dynamics, as moisture is needed for fungal growth. While existing methodologies, such as lab and field tests, provide valuable insights into wood decay, they often fall short in replicating real-life conditions, particularly within the intricacies of t...
J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker, M Delbeke, A Blommaert, N Van Den Bossche, M Steeman, L De Ligne
Suberinic acid from birch bark and its suitability in wood protection
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20708
This study investigated the effect of different concentrations of suberinic acid (SA) on the growth of two fungi species. Initial radial growth tests showed a slightly slower growth rate for brown rot, whereas white rot exhibited faster growth than the untreated reference. In contrast, a commercial wood preservative significantly reduced the radial growth of both fungi species. Evidence of cell wa...
A Treu, M Altgen, J Rizikovs
Studies on the treatability of selected pine species and corresponding efficacies of a new non-biocidal treatment
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20721
Wood decay caused by fungi may reduce the service life of wood in outdoor applications. Since moisture conditions in wood occur as one of the most crucial parameters for fungal decay, chemical modifications, which affect the latter, may increase the resistance of wood against such organisms. Usually, pine sapwood is easier to chemically treat than heartwood, as the former generally shows good perm...
T R da Silva Lins, L Emmerich, H Militz, P H Gonzales de Cademartoni, R J Klizke, M Pereira da Rocha
The potential of Wacapou (Vouacapoua americana) extracts to develop new biobased protective solutions for white woods
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20724
The valorisation of Amazonian wood residues into active chemical compounds could be an eco-friendly, cost effective and valuable way to develop wood preservatives formulations in order to enhance the decay and termite resistances of low durable wood species, by impregnation processes. Wacapou (Vouacapoua spp., Fabaceae) is a well-known Guianese wood species for its use in local wood construction ...
E Kieny, K Candelier, L Milhe, Y Estevez, C Sophie, R Lehnebach, J Damay, D Florez, E Hoël, M-F Thevenon, J Bossu
Influence of the substitution of phenol with lignin cleavage products in phenol-formaldehyde impregnation resins for wood modification on the fungal decay resistance and impregnation depth
2024 - IRG/WP 24-30805
The impregnation modification of wood with phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins increases the woods dimensional stability and resistance against fungal decay. However, to decrease the usage of non-renewable resources, the substitution of phenol has been a topic of scientific interest. Lignin is a currently underutilized resource with a chemical structure that contains phenolic units. For adhesive appli...
J Karthäuser, L Tarentino, A Treu, H Militz, G Alfredsen
Bio-durability and weathering performances of cardanol-treated wood
2024 - IRG/WP 24-30809
Cardanol is an excellent insecticide, fungicide, and termiticide derived from thermally treated cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) and has been extensively explored in the chemical industry and for medicinal uses. However, its potential for wood protection remains unexplored. This study aims to understand the bio-durability and weathering properties of cardanol-treated wood. The southern pine and yello...
L Liang, McDonald, A G, L Cai
How personality traits influence the perception of fungal decay in a wooden cladding – A survey in three Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41002
This study examined perceptions of fungal decay damage on wooden cladding across Norway, Sweden, and Germany. The majority of respondents across all countries did not find the fungal decay damage in question acceptable, with the least acceptance in Norway. This could be due to Norway having the highest frequency of wooden residential buildings and the most experience with maintaining wooden claddi...
G W Gustavsen, G Alfredsen, P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, C Brischke
Assessment of historical pilings from Lisbon
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41004
The renovation and rebuilding of areas in Lisbon has led to work on buildings constructed in the Pombaline downtown district. These buildings were constructed on wooden pilings, as a means of stabilising unstable soils and transfer the loads from buildings to soils with adequate bearing capacity. These methods also increased the resilience of the reconstruction works to future possible earthquakes...
D Jones, S Duarte, J A J Huber, L Nunes
Changes in decay risk of wood in ground contact over Europe, from analysis of historic climate conditions
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41008
Changing climate conditions will affect global temperature and precipitation patterns, shifting some geographical areas into states that are more suitable for fungal wood decay. Climate normals, which are taken over a 30-year period, capture vast spatial and temporal variations in these conditions and comparing these can show changes over time. Importantly, being able to identify locations that ha...
P B van Niekerk, B N Marais, G Alfredsen, C Brischke
Analysis and performance of spruce alternative species and discarded wood for windows production
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50386
Climate change is having a significant impact on European forestry, particularly on the softwood species used for window frames. This study investigates potential replacement tree species for spruce (Picea abies), the predominant material for window frames. We evaluate Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), thermally modified poplar (Populus nigra) and discarded silver...
B Lesar, J Levanič, M Humar, A Treu
Structural health assessment of wood - A comparison of methods for determining the spatial spread of fungal infestation in beams and rafters
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11051
Wood decay in buildings can cause severe economic losses, require comprehensive refurbishment, and removal of decayed wooden elements from the building. The latter aims at restoring the structural integrity of the component or the entire building through replacement, and at preventing the infestation from spreading further. In practice, components are cut out of the structure to such an extent tha...
C Brischke, N Sommerfeld, E Flohr, A K Mayer, S Bollmus
Towards eco-friendly fire retardant of wood - exploring fungal biomineralization
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11052
Timber is a strong, durable, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable building material but its combustibility represents a safety threat. Commonly used fire and flame retardants are often environmentally unfriendly, while safety cladding is labour intensive and covers the wood, decreasing the aesthetic appeal of the building. Mineralisation of wood with calcium carbonate has been shown to be a prom...
K Butina Ogorelec, A Gubenšek, A Sandak
Synthetic Oxalate/ß-glucan Fungal Extracellular Matrix Demonstrates Potential Inhibition of Extracellular Enzyme Diffusion into Wood Cell Walls, and Calls into Question the Role of Enzymes in Wood Decay
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11053
ß-glucan is the major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of many fungi, including wood degrading fungi. Many of these species also secrete oxalate into the ECM. Our research demonstrates that ß-glucan forms a novel, previously unreported, hydrogel at room temperature with oxalate. This finding better explains the gel-like nature of the fungal ECM. Oxalate, at relatively low levels, was ...
B Goodell, G A Tompsett, G Perez-Gonzalez, K Mastalerz, M Timko
Fungal degradation of oak timber bridges
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11058
Wood is increasingly recognised as an eco-friendly building material, but its organic nature makes it vulnerable to degradation, especially in outdoor applications exposed to moisture. This study investigates wood-decaying fungi affecting oak timber bridges in Hanover, Germany. The study aimed to identify the fungal species using culture-independent methods and to examine the impact of poorly exec...
L Schrader, J Trautner, C Brischke
A comparison of methods – how to achieve a robust and conclusive durability classification of wood
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11063
The biological durability of wood is a relative and unitless size, and therefore wood species and wood-based materials are assigned to durability classes (DC). In Europe, such classes are based on a variety of measures, which can be absolute or relative to a non-durable reference species. The aim of efforts to develop and standardise methods for determining biological durability should be to ensur...
C Brischke
Multifactorial analysis of the reasons behind wood natural durability
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11065
Physical, chemical and biological properties of several wood species were investigated in order to highlight the main factors involved in wood natural durability and wood characteristic using a principal component analysis. Interaction of wood with water were evaluated using contact angle measurements to determinate wood wettability by water and wood impregnability tests with water allowing to cal...
L-F E Nkogo, M S M Mouendou, S Dumarçay, P E Engonga, F Zannini, E Gelhaye, P Gérardin
Detecting wood-decay fungi in walls: a non-destructive approach with an electronic nose
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11070
Wood-decay fungi degrade the structural integrity and safety of wooden buildings, leading to potential hazards and reduced durability. Conventional detection methods, such as visual inspection and destructive sampling, are often impractical for concealed spaces, such as those within walls or beneath floors. These methods often require specialised training and costly equipment, making non-destructi...
M Suzuki, T Miyauchi, S Isaji, R Naganawa
Interaction of cellulolytic enzymes with fungal cell wall polysaccharides
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11071
Wood rotting fungi are the primary agents responsible for the decomposition of wood in natural environments. These fungi secrete a variety of enzymes to degrade the chemically and structurally resistant components of the wood cell wall. Some of these enzymes possess a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), which enhances enzymatic efficiency by increasing their affinity to the substrate. Previously, w...
K Fukabori, N Hattori, Y Kojima, R Iizuka, M Yoshida
Functional Analysis of Cellobiose Dehydrogenase from the Saprotrophic Basidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11076
The plant saprophytic fungi including wood rotting fungi secrete various extracellular hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes to degrade wood cell wall. Among these, cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is known as a flavoheme enzyme composed of a flavin domain with FAD and a b-type heme domain. CDH oxidises the reducing end of cellobiose, and transfers electrons to redox partners such as lytic polysaccharide...
Y Sakka, A Hosaka, M Yoshida
A novel anti-fungal wood crack repairing agent based on CQDs/PVA
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20744
Wood is a sustainable material, but its tendency to crack and decay poses a challenge for its applications. In this study, we developed a combination system of nitrogen-doping carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to repair wood cracks. Rather than employing the conventional repairing methods such as filling cracks with sawdust and petroleum based-adhesives, this technique can m...
X Zhao, Z Zhang, Y Peng, W Wang, J Cao
The iTrussT project – Advancements in timber bridge design, preservation, and monitoring
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20751
The Norwegian research project iTrussT (2025–2028) aims to advance timber bridge design and unlock wood’s full potential as a sustainable solution for modern infrastructure. It addresses three critical challenges: First, fatigue testing of glued laminated timber lamellae will provide deeper insights into shear failure mechanisms, supporting the development of safer, more efficient structures a...
K-C Mahnert, U Hundhausen
Durability Analysis of Bio-based Phenol-Formaldehyde Resin-Treated Wood
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20753
The aim of this study is to explore the application of bio-based materials in outdoor construction. Enhancing the durability of wood products effectively extends their carbon storage lifespan, making it essential to investigate their long-term durability. The study used commercial resin (CPF) and laboratory-synthesised petro-based phenolic resin (LPF) as control groups. Japanese cedar specimens we...
T-H Lin, P-Y Kuo
Carbon quantum dots as a fungicide and its applications in wood
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20754
In this work, we synthesised nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) via a microwave assisted method. CQDs with proper structure showed excellent anti-fungal effects against both brown (Postia placenta, Pp) and white rot decay fungi (Trametes versicolor, Tv) on wood. The underlying anti-fungal mechanisms of CQDs on wood were further elucidated. We found that positively charged nano-sized CQDs pr...
X Zhao, Z Zhang, M Zhou, J Cao