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Ultra-structural observations on the degradation of wood surfaces during weathering
1987 - IRG/WP 2280
Radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) sapwood was converted into blocks with a transverse face about 5 mm square and measuring 8 mm longitudinally. Transverse (T.S.), Radial (R.L.S.) and Tangential (T.L.S.) surfaces were prepared and specimens exposed to the weather inclined at 45° facing equatorially for periods of between 20-60 days. After 30 days exposure erosion of the middle lamella was observ...
P D Evans, S Thein


Long-term performance of a "wax" type additive for use with water-borne pressure preservative treatments
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40159
Field performance results are updated for matched CCA treated decking boards with and without an emulsion water repellent additive incorporated with the initial pressure treatment. Decks have been exposured for over 9 years in Harrisburg, NC. Boards were evaluated for in-service and laboratory performance for water repellent efficacy, as well as additive loadings in the boards after this exposure....
A R Zahora


Performance results of wood treated with CCA-PEG
1986 - IRG/WP 3363
The addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the CCA system has been shown to reduce the surface hardness of poles and ease spur penetration during climbing. This paper addresses the results of tests dealing with preservative retention and penetration, permanence of CCA and PEG, strength, drying rate, and checking characteristics....
W P Trumble, E E Messina


Inspection method of surface checking of Sugi posts
2003 - IRG/WP 03-20272
In order to establish the method for evaluating the checking of Sugi posts, checks on exposed posts were examined. Checks on Sugi posts exposed for 18 months were superficially inspected, that is, the length, width, and depth of the checks were measured from the outside with a ruler and 0.1 mm thick feeler gauge. Then, each post was cut into cross sections of the 30 mm width, and the check depth w...
H Kurisaki, H Nakatani, K Mizumoto


Report of the meeting of the refractory timbers sub-group, Lappeenranta, Finland on 25 May 1989
1989 - IRG/WP 3561
The first meeting of this sub-group took place on Thursday 25 May and considered the following agenda: 1) Papers presented to the meeting "Performance of treated spruce in Canadian field test sites" by J.P.Hösli and E.E.Doyle, IRG/WP/3506 and "Performance of CCA treated spruce and pine in unsterilized soil" by A.J.Nurmi. 2) Future work areas for the sub-group 3) Membership of the sub-group 4) Cir...
R J Murphy


The performance of glue laminated railway ties after 40 years of service in the main line track
1989 - IRG/WP 2325
Two series of horizontally glue laminated ties made of a softwood body and topped with a hardwood lamination were creosoted and installed in 1947 in a tangent and a curved main line track. The tests are now 40 years old and the excellent condition of the ties of these two series suggest that a service life of 50-60 years can be expected....
J P Hösli, E E Doyle, C P Bird, T Lee


Checking of sodium pentachlorophenate fixation in wood
1990 - IRG/WP 3620
In order to estimate the volatilization of sodium pentachlorophenate from treated wood, wood samples treated with pentachlorophenate were analysed after various durations of an EN 73 weathering The results giving no clear evidence of volatilization, treated wood samples were put in a test chamber with precise climatic conditions, the air used in the experiment being analysed. The pentachlorophenat...
M Lamour, H Sageot


Glulaminated poles - Progress report after 7 years' testing
1987 - IRG/WP 3444
In 1979 a number of glulaminated poles with various preservative treatments were placed in a greenhouse at Uppsala, at the Simlångsdalen test field in southern Sweden and under a power line just south of the Arctic circle in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The tests have shown that the comparatively best performance will be obtained if each lamination is treated wi...
J Jermer, Ö Bergman


The suitability of high pressure sap-displacement for the retention of UK grown spruce and pine
1990 - IRG/WP 3595
The concentration and radial distribution of copper, chrome, arsenic (CCA), and the moisture content and depth of radial checking in UK grown, field exposed spruce and pine poles treated by high pressure sap-displacement are examined. The concentration of CCA elements in samples obtained from increment cores is similar in Norway spruce, Scots pine and Corsican pine but is significantly lower in Si...
P D Evans, S D Hainey, A Bruce, G M Smith, B King


The natural durability assessments of secondary timber species - field trials
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10297
Secondary or 'alternative' hardwood timber species can replace traditional hardwoods and contribute significantly to satisfying the overall demand for hardwoods in the UK timber market. A selection of these 'alternative' hardwoods is currently being tested at BRE-WTC for natural durability both in ground contact (to EN252) at two field sites, and out of ground c...
E D Suttie, R J Orsler


Structural defects in CCA treated timber fence posts: A case study.
1997 - IRG/WP 97-40084
Since 1983 an environmental improvement programme has been in progress in the city of Dundee. This programme included the erection of rail and pale timber fencing throughout the city. The timbers had been pressure treated with CCA prior to painting with 2 coats of an exterior wood stain finish. However, the larger dimension timber fence posts (100 x 125 x 1500 mm3) regularly developed severe check...
S Muhsin, D C R Sinclair, A Bruce, H J Staines


Kerfing reduces checking in ACA-treated western white spruce poles
1988 - IRG/WP 3477
Western white spruce poles, pressure treated with pentachlorophenol and ammoniacal copper arsenate (ACA) were installed in the Westham Island test site. The pentachlorophenol treated poles were unkerfed, while both unkerfed and kerfed ACA poles were placed in test. The checking and kerf width and depth were recorded at the time of installation. After ten years of weathering the checking characteri...
J N R Ruddick


Comparative field performance of CCA and CCA-water repellent treated Southern pine lumber
1995 - IRG/WP 95-30089
This paper describes the field performance of end-matched southern pine boards treated with either CCA type C or CCA type C containing an emulsion water repellent (WR) additive. Boards were either kiln or air-dried after treatment, constructed into decks, and exposed for over 3 years at Harrisburg, NC. During this exposure, matched boards were monitored for internal moisture content, cupping at mi...
A R Zahora


Kerfing and center-boring reduce checking in CCA-treated slash pine posts
1997 - IRG/WP 97-40082
Single and double kerfing, center-boring and incising were applied to green, peeled, slash pine posts. Posts were air dried for ten weeks and assessed for the number of surface drying checks greater than 1.0 mm in width. Posts were then pressure treated with a chromated-copper-arsenate (CCA-C) preservative and exposed outdoors in a horizontal position. The number of surface weathering checks in th...
P D Evans, R Wingate-Hill, R B Cunningham


Development of software to automate the quantification of checking occurring in preservative treated wood exposed to weathering
2001 - IRG/WP 01-20228
Surface checking often disfigures the appearance of wood treated with water-borne preservatives and treatments designed to reduce such checking have been receiving increasing attention. Progress in this area has however been slowed by the lack of a method of rapidly and accurately quantifying checking at treated wood surfaces. A software package has therefore been developed which identifies, measu...
A G Christy, P D Evans


Surface characteristics of wood treated with various AAC, ACQ and CCA formulations after weathering
1991 - IRG/WP 2369
Wood samples treated with various alkylammonium compounds (AACs) as well as ammoniacal copper quat (ACQ) and chromated copper arsenate (CCA) have been studied in accelerated weathering experiments. Microscopic examination of the surfaces of these samples after exposure in a weatherometer revealed several different changes. Samples treated with didecyldimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC) show consider...
L Jin, K J Archer, A F Preston


Surface checking of CCA-treated radiata pine decking timber exposed to natural weathering
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40165
A field trial was established at four locations in Australia to assess the effect of CCA and CCA-wax treatment on the checking (cracking) of radiata pine decking timber exposed to natural weathering. Untreated decking timber and timber that had been pressure treated with water acted as controls. After 1 year's exposure the number and sizes of checks occurring in treated timber and control...
P D Evans, P J Beutel, C F Donnelly, R B Cunningham


Preliminary observations of the effect of growth ring orientation on the surface checking of flat sawn Southern pine decking
2005 - IRG/WP 05-20313
Checking in decking timber is a serious defect and methods of reducing its severity are required to ensure that wood can compete with alternative decking materials. The first aim of this research was to test the hypothesis that flat sawn Southern pine decking boards with growth rings oriented concave to the exposed surface will develop less severe checking when exposed outdoors than similarly expo...
K Urban, P D Evans


Preliminary Observations of the Effect of Kerfing on the Surface Checking and Warping of Flat Sawn Southern Pine Decking
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20360
Checking and warping of decking timber are serious defects and methods of reducing their severity are required to ensure that wooden decking can compete with alternative decking materials. Kerfing is effective at reducing the checking and distortion of square cross-section lumber, and the checking of roundwood. In the past it has also been applied to preservative treated decking boards, however, t...
R Ratu, J Weizenegger, P Evans


The Effect of Solar Radiation on the Surface Checking of Wood
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40356
The aim of this research was to investigate whether exposure to solar radiation increases the checking of wood exposed to the weather, and examine the causes and spectral dependency of such an effect. Lodgepole pine samples were exposed outdoors under filters which transmitted selected regions of the solar spectrum while allowing other weathering factors to act on samples. Surface checking in samp...
P Evans, K Urban


Development of a Weatherometer to Accelerate the Surface Checking of Wood
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20388
There is significant interest in developing preservatives that are better at preventing wood from checking. Currently, however, there is no accepted test methodology for accelerating the development of checks in wood samples so information on the effectiveness of treatments at restricting checking can be obtained more quickly. This paper describes the development of a new type of weatherometer (Ac...
R Ratu, P D Evans


Finite Element Modelling of the Checking of Wood Exposed to Accelerated Weathering
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20459
The surface checking that develops when wood is exposed to the weather reduces the visual appeal of treated wood products and can reduce the effectiveness of preservative treatments. There is strong interest in developing solutions to this problem and also a growing realization that such solutions may evolve from a deeper understanding of the mechanisms responsible for surface checking. In this pa...
S G Ribarits, P D Evans


The Effectiveness of Machined Profiles at Reducing the Checking of Wooden Decking
2011 - IRG/WP 11-40541
This study tests the hypothesis that ‘the ability of surface profiling to reduce checking of deck boards exposed to weathering will vary with wood species and profile type’. Southern pine (Pinus sp.) and Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis) deck boards were machined to produce three different types of surface profiles: flat (control), ribbed (V-shaped grooves), and rippled (U-shaped grooves). B...
P Evans, I Cullis, P Morris


Use of Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy for in situ Observation of Degradation of Wood Surfaces during Artificial Weathering
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20489
Variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VPSEM) is capable of observing electrically non-conductive materials like wood without the need to render the surface conductive by applying a coating of gold, platinum or carbon. Hence, there is the possibility that VPSEM could be used to non-destructively follow the structural changes occurring at wood surfaces during weathering, because specimens ...
F Hatae, Y Kataoka, M Kiguchi, H Matsunaga, J Matsumura


Study of weathering Characteristics in Profiled and Treated Deck Boards
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40680
Wood exposed outdoors to repeated wetting and drying develops surface checks. Excessive checking of wooden deck boards has been a major source of dissatisfaction to consumers. In this study, Southern pine (Pinus sp.) deck boards were machined to flat (control) and ribbed surface profiles. The specimens were treated with aqueous formulations of 4,5-dichloro-2-N-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (EL2) and ...
M Akhtari, D Nicholas, L Sites


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