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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


Changes of fungicidal, mechanical and sorption properties of wood during above ground outdoor exposure
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20513
The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate differences in mechanical, fungicidal, and sorption properties of four different wood species (sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), common beach (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), and copper-ethanolamine (CuE) impregnated Norway spruce (Picea abies)) that were exposed in the 3rd use class (CEN, 1992) for periods between 4 and 30 months...
N Thaler, M Humar


Testing the performance of timber using 27 different field test methods
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20517
Numerous test methods to determine the durability of timber and timber products have been described in relevant literature. However, only some of these methods have been standardized and thus only very few are regularly used for resistance tests in the field. Since results from extensive comparative field studies have shown differences in moisture performance between different test methods, the ai...
L Meyer, C Brischke, J Rieken


Virulence of two Laboratory Test Strains and one Natural Isolate of Rhodonia (Oligoporus) placenta against Thermally Modified Pine and Beech Wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20524
Rhodonia (Oligoporus) placenta is known as a relative aggressive basidiomycete fungus against thermally modified timber. In durability lab tests, this often results in a lower durability class, compared to other test fungi. In the reported work, the virulence of three different strains of Rhodonia placenta for untreated and thermally modified timber was determined and compared. Therefore, two lab ...
K Plaschkies, W Scheiding, K Jacobs, N Rangno


Cell wall properties of softwood deteriorated by fungi: combined chemical analyses, FT-IR spectroscopy, nanoindentation and micromechanical modelling
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20527
Mechanical properties of wood are determined by its inherent hierarchical microstructure, starting at the nanometer scale, where the elementary components cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin build up the wood cell wall material. Fungi cause degradation and decomposition of these components and, thus, alter the mechanical properties of wood. The aim of this study is to gain new insight into these...
L Wagner, T K Bader, K de Borst, T Ters, K Fackler


Development of a rapid method to assess the rate of fungal colonization of wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20531
Testing of wood durability is today done mainly with accelerated exposure tests under rather realistic conditions (in ground, outdoors with moisture traps etc). Although such tests are accelerated with respect to the conditions that outdoor exposed wood structures are exposed to, they tend to take rather long time. The present paper presents the development of a rapid method intended to assess at ...
L Wadsö


Fungal laccases as a tool for wood functionalization
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20533
Wood degrading fungi are the most important production organisms for laccase, a promising oxidative biocatalyst with numerous biotechnological applications in the forest products industry. Laccases are multi-copper containing oxidases (EC 1.10.3.2), which catalyse mono-electronic oxidation of phenols, polyphenols and anilines at the expense of molecular oxygen. Interest in these essentially ‘eco...
M Schubert


Moisture distribution in glulam beams with natural cracks observed with CT Scanning before and after rain
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20534
The way cracks in outdoor wooden constructions affect durability is an interesting topic, since a certain amount of cracks can always be found naturally in wood and glued laminated wood. The question in this was, can cracks lead water into the wood and thereby increase the risk for decay and reduce strength and service life. Moisture balance, i.e., water absorption and water distribution were stud...
K Sandberg


Performance testing of DMDHEU-modified wood in Australia
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30613
Chemical wood modification with dimethyloldihydroxy-ethyleneurea (DMDHEU) or its derivatives has been researched for many years and shown to be applicable to improve certain wood properties to both solid lumber and wood-based composites. Earlier research proved a high biological resistance of DMDHEU-modified wood against biological degradation in laboratory and field tests in Europe. Due to the ve...
H Militz, J Norton


Preliminary testing of spiroborate esters as wood preservatives
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30614
Fungicide and insecticide properties of boric acid are known since 30’s of the last century, but high solubility and leachability of inorganic borates limit their use for only applications not directly exposed to liquid water. A number of attempts were made to fixate borate salts into the wood structure but this research topic is still up to date and undiscovered. Water insoluble organoboron est...
D Panov, N Terziev


The effects of impregnation with secondary metabolite extracted from Ipe on durability of Japanese cedar and beech wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30618
Ipe wood is known for its high durability; it has been widely used in exterior structures that are exposed to the weather. In this paper, to increase the durability of less durable wood, Japanese cedar and beech specimens were impregnated with a secondary metabolite from Ipe. In a previous study, secondary metabolites extracted by a Soxhlet extraction method showed antifungal properties. Therefore...
T Iida, R Konuma, K Kawarada


Application of a model for the prediction of fungal degradation of thermally modified beech timber by Trametes versicolor
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40622
Colour measurement technology is found to be feasible for characterization of the property changes of thermally modified timber (TMT). In opposite to time-consuming and expensive laboratory tests a non-destructive test represents an improvement for the manufacturer of TMT. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a method which allows sorting the different treatment intensities after the man...
Clauder, L., Richter S., Unger, W., Pfriem, A


Effect of the nature of the inert atmosphere used during thermal treatment on chemical composition, decay durability and mechanical properties of wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40625
Wood heat treatment is an attractive alternative to improve decay resistance of low natural durability wood species. Nowadays, several types of thermal treatments of wood exist. These treatments differ mainly by the nature of the inert atmosphere used to avoid wood combustion which may correspond to: nitrogen, vacuum, steam or oil. Decay resistances as well as mechanical properties are strongly co...
K Candelier, S Dumarçay, A Pétrissans, M Pétrissans, P Gérardin


Resistance of WPC against wood destroying fungi
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40627
The investigation of biological durability is a fundamental topic to assess the performance of Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) particularly for outdoor applications. In the last years, different test setups based on existing standards on the field of wood as well as the field of plastics were used for WPC. But the test methodologies give different information about the durability of the tested mater...
A Gellerich, S Bollmus, A Krause


Influence of Heat Treatment Medium on Fungal Resistance of Beech Wood
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40643
Hydrothermal treatment of beech wood (Fagus orientalis) performed in acidic, neutral and alkaline buffered mediums in 160 and 180°C. White rot fungi (Coriolus versicolor) and brown rot fungi (Coniophora puteana) were used to determine the influence of heat treatment mediums on the behaviour of fungal resistance. White rot of wood digest lignin rather than cellulose; while brown rot digests the ce...
A Talaei, A Karimi, M-F Thévenon


Durability of alternatives to CCA-treated wood - Results from field tests after 11 years exposure
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30633
The present study was initiated as a consequence of restrictions against the use of CCA-type wood preservatives in Sweden in the 1990s. New copper-based formulations were introduced on the market and to some extent, also alternatives to preservative-treated wood, such as thermally and chemically modified and linseed oil treated wood as well as heartwood of non-tropical naturally durable wood s...
P Larsson Brelid, M-L Edlund


Estimation of service life of treated wood in ground contact based on early indicators
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20536
A well-known problem with field testing is that it takes a long time before meaningful and reliable results are achieved. Only when a trial has come to an end the so called average life for the samples in a group can be calculated and compared with other samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to get a reasonable and good estimation of the average life long befor...
M Hansson, J Jermer, P Larsson Brelid, N Terziev


Moisture dynamics of wood – An approach to implement wetting ability of wood into a resistance classification concept
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20557
Within the research programmes WoodBuild and PerformWOOD, wetting ability tests have been conducted with 25 wood-based materials. A first attempt has been made to establish factors for calculating the material resistance of wood materials to be implemented into a design guideline for timber structures. The approach looks promising, but further studies are needed to establish more reliable relation...
C Brischke, C Hesse, L Meyer, S Bardage, J Jermer, T Isaksson


An Overview of Western Red Cedar as a Wood Pole Species
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10815
This paper reviews the characteristics of western red cedar, with particular emphasis on its use in utility poles. Western red cedar naturally grows primarily in British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana. Compared to other commercial softwoods it has low density, increased corrosivity, weaker mechanical properties, high dimensional stability, and high natural dura...
M H Freeman, R Stirling


Performance of recent and old Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) wood
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10816
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) hardwood is one of the most durable European wood species. In the present research, various aspects that could potentially influence the durability were elucidated, namely: presence of extractives, ring width, and weathering. Simultaneously, properties of wood, which was in outdoor use for 35 years, were elucidated as well. The results indicate that ring width and ...
M Humar, M Žlahtič, N Thaler


Natural durability of plantation-grown coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in New Zealand
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10817
There is wide variation in the wood properties of plantation-grown coast redwood in New Zealand. Contributing factors are the seed source, silviculture, growth and age of the trees in the plantation forests. Little is known about how these factors affect the variation of wood properties among and within the trees of New Zealand’s coast redwood forests. Heartwood of plantation-grown coast redwood...
D O’Callahan, T Jones, C Low, C Chittenden


Durability and Wood Protection for Historic Covered Bridges in the United States
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10829
A majority of the covered wooden bridges in United States were built in the mid -1800’s. These structures represent a unique cultural and technological heritage from that era. Over time, these bridges have been deteriorated by microorganisms and insects or damaged by acts of vandalism and arson. The National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation (NHCBP) Program sponsored by the Federal Highway Ad...
V W Yang, C A Clausen


Variability in durability of some selected South-American wood species
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10831
Within the scope of sustainable forest management one wants to encourage the proper use of lesser known wood species. Therefore the market has to shift from a demand-driven towards a supply-driven market without loss of wood quality. It is generally known that the durability from pith to bark varies thus, affecting the overall durability of wood species. Consequently, a detailed analysis is necess...
I De Windt, P ’t Hooft, J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker


Moisture performance testing of wood – Practical experiences
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20546
Different methods are used to characterize the moisture performance of wood and to quantify the effect of moisture loads on the resulting service life. These methods can be divided into direct and indirect methods. Furthermore they can be distinguished by characteristics like continuous or periodical measurements and measuring local or global moisture content (MC). Furthermore each measuring metho...
L Meyer, C Brischke, M Kasselmann, C Rösmann


In-ground durability of wood-based products – Comparative assessment of graveyard field tests and terrestrial microcosms
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20538
Traditionally wood durability and the effectiveness of wood preservatives are determined in so-called graveyard tests (according to EN 252 or AWPA E7). For laboratory testing, terrestrial microcosms (TMC) can serve as an alternative. Both tests have been applied for different types of wood-based materials, preservative treated, modified and unmodified wood. However, the usability of laboratory res...
A Soetbeer, L Meyer, C Brischke, P Larsson-Brelid, J Jermer


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