Your search resulted in 141 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
A New Decay Hazard Map for North America Using the Scheffer Index
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10672
Wood decay experts in the USA and Canada use the Scheffer Index for above-ground wood decay potential to decide among design and treatment options to ensure the durability of wood construction. This paper provides an updated North American decay hazard map and includes data on Central America. Index values calculated from recent climate data are higher than published values due to directional or c...
P I Morris, J Wang
Decay Hazard Classifications in China for Exterior Above-Ground Wood
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20357
A decay hazard map for exterior above-ground wood structures is presented based on Scheffer’s Climate Index, with the major purpose of promoting awareness for proper protection of wood structures in different locations in China. A very large area in the South, including southern Yunnan, most of Sichuan Province and Chongqing, and part of Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, as well as all...
J Wang, X Wu, M Jiang, P I Morris
Effects of heat treatments on decay resistance and material properties of ponderosa pine and yellow poplar
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40374
The potential for using heat treatment to improve the properties of North American fenestration species was evaluated on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa L) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L) treated using the ThermoWood process at various treatment temperatures and times. Soil block tests using Gloeophyllum trabeum, Postia placenta, or Trametes versicolor showed that durability was enh...
C Vidrine, C Freitag, J Nicholson, J J Morrell
Control of Moisture Content in Wood Materials for Mold Growth
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10630
Mold growth on wood materials is a major concern for house owners, as it can cause health and aesthetic problems. Mold fungi, present everywhere, usually appear as black or gray patches on wood surfaces in humid environments, and are common in houses. Like any living organism, molds need food, water, oxygen, and a specific temperature range in order to grow. To avoid mold growth on wood materia...
Dian-Qing Yang
Do insects infest wood packing material with bark following heat-treatment?
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10633
As a result of international trade, many bark- and wood-infesting insects are inadvertently transported in wood packing materials (WPM) such as crating, dunnage, and pallets. WPM is suspected as the likely pathway for most of these borers, although the exact mode of entry into the USA is unknown for all 25 borers. The top 10 countries of origin were, in decreasing order, Italy, Germany, China, Spa...
R A Haack, T R Petrice, P Nzokou, D P Kamdem
A Review of Wood as Material and Source of Innumerable Products
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10662
As we known that “wood –which is a source of innumerable pruducts (Tsoumis, 1968)– is a fascinating and challenging material (Dinwoodie, 1975)”, and hence, “an understanding of the basic properties of wood and of the factors that affect its serviceability is vital background for the preservation of wood structures (Sherwood, 1986)”. This paper therefore presents an overview of structru...
I Usta, R Despot
Water Absorption of Various Building Materials and Mold Growth
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10657
Mold growth is a major problem for house owners, as it often occurs on the surface of building materials in damp houses. The principal method to control mold growth on building materials is to prevent water penetration into the materials. A study was recently conducted to determine water absorption rates of different wood species and panel materials used as building materials, when water intrusi...
Dian-Qing Yang
Material properties of acetylated beech plywood
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40425
The effect of acetylation process on dimensional stability and mechanical properties of plywood made by Oriental beech layers (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) were studied. The layers cut into sizes of 200×200×2 mm and acetylated in 120°C for 30 and 60 min.
Thickness swelling (TS%), water absorption (WA%) and anti-swelling¬ efficiency (ASE%) of specimens were measured. Mechanical properties (MOE, MO...
A Talaei
Wood protection, a tool for climate change mitigation?
2008 - IRG/WP 08-50257
In the context of global warming and the search for possible strategies to mitigate climate change, forest and forest products have important advantages. Sustainable management makes forest a carbon sink, wood products have the potential to be a carbon sink as well, and their low carbon intensity is a potential for reducing CO2 emissions by substitution to competing materials. After describing the...
G Deroubaix
To decay or not to decay: An accelerated field test of the validity of the Scheffer index
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20392
The Scheffer Index was introduced in 1971 to predict the relative decay hazard of untreated wood exposed above-ground. Precipitation and temperature parameters are used in the calculation. A higher Scheffer Index value implies a greater risk of decay. An accelerated 18-month study using seven field sites with Scheffer Indices ranging from 35 to 400 and two wood types (Populus tremuloides and Pi...
G M Larkin, P E Laks
Evaluation of the natural durability of reed (Phragmites australis) originating in the Fertö region (Hungary) against wood decay organisms as material for use in a sustainable motorway noise barrier
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10685
This work presents the research carried out to determine the natural durability of reed from the Fertö region of Hungary against wood decay organisms. The final objective of this study is to obtain sufficient relevant data in order that the reed may be used as a constituent element in a viable and sustainable motorway noise barrier, which has been developed within the European research project, k...
M T Troya, F Rubio, M J Prieto, D Lorenzo, J L Fernández-Cabo, R Schöftner
Ensure Durable Wood-Frame Construction under the Climate and Biological Hazards in Shanghai
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20413
This paper provides technical background for developing durability-related provisions for the Shanghai wood-frame construction code. It summarizes the related climate, decay and termite hazards in this area as well as traditional durability solutions used for wood and wood hybrid constructions in China. The overall durability principles or philosophy used throughout this durability chapter are to ...
Jieying Wang, Chun Ni, Jiahua Zhang
Modelling of onset of mould growth for wood exposed to varying climate conditions
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20414
A performance-based service life design format based on climatic exposure on one hand and “resistance” of wood against mould growth on the other hand, is presented in this paper. A limit state for onset of mould growth is defined as the occurrence of traces of mould observed by microscopy. A dose-response model is proposed by which onset of mould growth can be predicted for an arbitrary climat...
S Thelandersson, T Isaksson, A Ekstrand-Tobin, P Johansson
Material properties of furfurylated wood for window production
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40480
Wood modification with furfuryl alcohol is an extensively investigated process and already produced commercially. Furfurylated wood is in the focus of a European project on its use for the production of high performance windows. Different wood species were treated with furfuryl alcohol and tested on water uptake, dimensional changes, leaching in water, resistance to fungal degradation, and ecotoxi...
A Treu, A Pilgård, S Puttmann, A Krause
Termite taxonomy and distribution with particular reference to climate change in Africa
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10738
Termites constitute an integral component of various ecosystems in Africa. Termites are also amongst the most difficult of the insects to study because of their cryptic behaviour. There are around 2600 species of termites (Isoptera) in 280 genera which have been described worldwide and about 39% of the total termite species are found in Africa. Some termite species are well known pests of agricul...
P O Y Nkunika, B M Ahmed Shiday, G W Sileshi, J R J French, P Nyeko, S Jain
Service life prediction of wooden components – Part 2: Impact of material, exposure and design details
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20440
Dose-response functions permit to estimate the moisture and temperature induced decay potential for any wooden building component and exposure, and thus the service life to be expected. In part 1 of this series dose-response functions were established as a result of double layer field trials carried out at 24 European test sites over up to eight years. Using them makes it no longer necessary to co...
C Brischke, B Lauenstein, M Bilstein, T Bornemann, A O Rapp
Onset of mould growth – the effect of climate variability and different geographic locations
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20446
This paper presents a study on how climate conditions at numerous locations in Sweden affect the risk of onset of mould on wood sheltered outdoors. The results indicate that the risk is clearly higher in the south compared to the north of Sweden. These differences are mainly explained by colder and dryer winter periods in the north which is unfavorable for development of mould. The results also sh...
M Häglund, T Isaksson, S Thelandersson
Drying Rates and Mold Growth on Various Building Materials under Different Environmental Conditions
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20454
Mold growth on building materials is a major problem for homeowners. The most suitable method to control mold growth on building materials is to utilize design features, construction tools and practices that prevent moisture accumulation, and keep the wood as dry as possible. In order to achieve this, engineers and homebuilders have to know the effects of various temperature and moisture conditi...
Dian-Qing Yang
Development of markers to predict decay durability of heat treated wood
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40496
Effect of heat treatment temperature on elemental composition of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) has been investigated in the range of temperatures between 220 and 250°C. Results revealed an important increase of carbon content, while oxygen content significantly decreases. Independently of the heat treatment temperature, elemental composition is strongly correlated with the mass losses due...
Ž Šušteršic, A Mohareb, M Chaouch, M Pétrissans, M Petric, P Gérardin
Wood Protection in Croatia – Situation from the Acquisition of Independence till Today
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40501
In the last eighteen years in Croatian wood-working industry, respectively wood protection industry, many good changes happened. In such a short period of time Croatian industry changed their “product philosophy”. After the fatherland war and acquisition of independence the most logs and sawn wood products have been exported from Croatia. With such “kind of philosophy” Croatian wood-workin...
R Despot, M Hasan
Testing of decay resistance of sapwood and heartwood of thermally modified Scots pine and Norway spruce
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40523
Thermal modification at elevated temperatures changes the chemical, biological and physical properties of wood. One of the main targets of thermal modification is to increase the biological durability and decay resistance of wood. Although the effects of thermal modification on wood have been widely studied, the significance of sapwood and heartwood on the resistance of thermally modified wood has...
H Viitanen, S Metsä-Kortelainen
Climate change and wood protection, increasing demand of long life wood products and decreasing production of treated wood
2010 - IRG/WP 10-50269
Several new topics related to wood protection sector has appeared in Japan, as the awareness of climate change becomes bigger and bigger. The “Basic act for housing (2006)” and the “Long-life housing promotion act (2009)” were enforced to form a safe and high quality housing stock and to form a long-service-life housing respectively. Despite of the favorable background for wood protection ...
K Yamamoto, H Kato
Effects of global climate change on mould growth - Interactions of concern
2010 - IRG/WP 10-50270
An evident change in climate the last decades has been recorded, and combined effects of increased CO2, elevated temperature and altered precipitation regimes have been observed to represent a change to the fundamental drivers within ecosystems. Growth of moulds, both in nature and on man-made constructions and objects, will most likely increase due to changes in the climate. The survival, the rep...
L Ross Gobakken
Natural durability of wood tested in different environments in Northern Europe
2011 - IRG/WP 11-10747
Moisture is often recognised as a key factor regarding the long time performance of wooden products, and one of the main challenges for timber products is to predict accurate service life in use class 3 (not covered above ground) and use class 4 (in soil or fresh water contact). A range of durability classification studies have been performed both in field and laboratory. But for several wood spec...
P O Flæte, G Alfredsen, F G Evans
Above ground testing at tropical test sites, what have we learned?
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20473
Three different above ground test methods have been utilized at a selection of five tropical and sub-tropical test sites with a variety of treated and untreated material. The results show that a multi-site approach to above ground field tests presents the opportunity for exposure to un-predicted biodeterioration hazards, which may be important for developmental products of poorly characterized fu...
A Preston, A Zahora, Y Cabrera, L Jin, C Schauwecker, P Walcheski