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Heat treated timber in Finland
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40158
Heat treatment permanently changes the physical and chemical properties of wood by means of high temperatures (150 - 240°C). Heat treatment darkens the colour of the wood. Heat treatment improves the equilibrium moisture content of the wood and the shrinkage and swelling of the wood is reduced. Very high temperatures improve the resistance to rot and also reduce the susceptibility to fungal decay...
T Syrjänen, E Kangas


Ancillary properties of vapor boron-treated composites
2001 - IRG/WP 01-40210
This paper discusses the water absorption, thickness swelling, and internal bond strength of North American composites treated using a vapor boron treatment process. For oriented strandboard, high boron loadings led to lower internal bond strength and lower thickness swelling. Water absorption results were variable but no deleterious effect of treatment was noted. For medium density fiberboard, th...
W A Jones, H M Barnes, R J Murphy


A new laboratory technique devised with the intention of determining whether, related to practical conditions, there should be a relationship between growth rate and decay capacity (of different strains) of Serpula lacrymans
1989 - IRG/WP 1384
Most laboratory techniques for the determination of growth rate not only use a medium (agar) unrelated to practice, but also yield values that are often far less than those found in practice. Also, most laboratory techniques for the determination of decay capacity ensure that the whole of a small test block becomes fully surface-colonised within the first few days; whereas in Australian practice S...
J D Thornton


Comparison of the effect of different soil sources on the type and rate of decay of CCA-treated pine exposed in a soil-bed
1984 - IRG/WP 2213
The types of decay observed in CCA-treated pine posts in horticultural situations in New Zealand can be reproduced using a soil-bed exposure. Radiata pine stakelets, untreated or treated to 1.4, 2.7, or 5.4 kg/m³ with Tanalith NCA, were exposed to six different soil sources. The local nursery soil used for all standard laboratory tests was found to represent the greatest decay hazard to untreated...
J A Drysdale


Effect of permeability and extractives on the decay rate of southern pine sapwood in above grund exposure
2005 - IRG/WP 05-20310
The effects of wood permeability and hydrophilic and hydrophobic extractives on the decay rate of southern pine sapwood in above ground exposure were investigated. Permeability was determined by water sorption measurements, and the effect of extractives was studied by pre-extracting the test samples prior to outdoor exposure using water to extract hydrophilic extractives or sequential methanol/cy...
D D Nicholas, T Schultz, L Sites, D Buckner


Effect of mineral wools on growth and decay capacities of Serpula lacrymans and some other brown-rot fungi
1991 - IRG/WP 1481
The influence of stone wool and glass wool on growth and decay capacities of Serpula lacrymans and some other brown-rot fungi was studied. Mass losses of pine wood caused by Serpula lacrymans and Gloeophyllum trabeum were increased when stone wool was present. Glass wool had no influence on mass losses. Coniophora puteana, Serpula lacrymans and Gloeophyllum trabeum grew into stone wool and destroy...
L Paajanen, A-C Ritschkoff


Estimation of effective diffusion path lengths in wood by swelling studies
1989 - IRG/WP 3524
The effective average distance that a solute must diffuse to penetrate the cell wall matrix following pressure treatment is estimated from the rate of swelling of wood, vacuum treated with water. It is assumed that the diffusion paths are similar for water and a solute such as a wood preservative component. Since bound water diffusion coefficients for water in wood have been estimated by others, t...
P A Cooper, R Churma


Effect of light and ventilation condition on the rate of wood decay by the brown rot basidiomycete, Tyromyces palustris
1991 - IRG/WP 1517
Effect of light and the ventilation conditions of incubation jars on the wood decay by Tyromyces palustris (Berk. et Curt.) Murr. FFPRI 0507 was investigated. Under no irradiation of light, the ventilation conditions gave extensive effect on mass loss of the test pieces when the culturing was performed with culture medium designated in Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) A 9302 (Medium A; glucose 4...
T Suzuki, M Higaki


The effect of felling time of year on CCA fixation rate and quality of selected hardwoods
1998 - IRG/WP 98-40116
White birch (Betula papyrifera), poplar (Populus sp.) and red maple (Acer rubrum) trees were harvested in winter, in spring, before the leaves flushed, after leaf flush and later in the summer. Sapwood discs were cut from the freshly felled trees, dried and cut into 25 mm and 19 mm cubes. The cubes were pressure impregnated with CCA-C and fixed under high relative humidity and at 50°C or at room ...
Y T Ung, A Taylor, P A Cooper, D P Kamdem


Effects of heat treatment on water repellence and anti-swelling efficiency of beech wood
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40223
The heating of solid wood to higher temperatures is the simplest and the cheapest means for stabilizing its dimensions. For the investigation of the effect of thermal treatment on water repellency effectiveness and anti-swelling efficiency of beech wood (Fagus orientalis Lipsky), air-seasoned samples of beech wood were heated in presence of air at temperatures of 130 C, 150 C, 180 C and 200 C for ...
S Yildiz


A Preliminary Report on the Properties of Engineered Wood Composite Panels Treated with Copper Naphthenate
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40294
This paper reports on our preliminary investigation of the properties of randomly oriented strandboard which had waterborne or powdered copper naphthenate (CuN) incorporated into the board during manufacture. When compared to zinc borate-treated controls (ZnB), the mechanical properties of strandboard (MOR, MOE, work-to-maximum load, internal bond strength) were not adversely affected by treatmen...
J W Kirkpatrick, H M Barnes


Accelerated laboratory soil contact decay test using soil amended with composted wood
2004 - IRG/WP 04-20284
The effect of amending soil with wood compost on the decay rate of wood wafers in contact with the unsterile soil, as measured by radial compression strength loss, was explored. It was found that the addition of composted wood to the soil significantly increased the wood decay rate. The reason for this acceleration in wood decay is not entirely clear, but appears to be at least partially associate...
D D Nicholas, H Borazjani, T Schultz


Changed permeability and surface properties of hornbeam wood due to its degradation by erosive strain of Phanerochaete chrysosporium
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40290
Specimens of hornbeam wood were submitted to a medium-term degradations by erosive fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Biodegradations of specimens resulted in their apparent structural alterations, changes in permeability and increased intensity of interactions with polar liquids. Modified physical properties of biodegraded wood may significantly influence its penetration with polar media and che...
R Solár, S Kurjatko, L Reinprecht, M Mamon, V Vacek


Microscopical analysis of formaldehyde-acid modified wood
1981 - IRG/WP 3182
Cross-linking of wood with gaseous formaldehyde improves its hygroscopic and dimensional behaviour, and its resistance against micro-organisms. However, formaldehyde cross-linking reactions take place only in the presence of an acid catalyst, which results in losses in mechanical By optimization of a formaldehyde-sulfur dioxide vapour phase process the reaction conditions were established to limit...
M Stevens, N Parameswaran


The rate of losses of creosote from power transmission poles during storage
1998 - IRG/WP 98-50101-24
The purpose of this work was to study the rate of losses of creosote from power transmission poles and its consequences on the expected life of the poles stored for a long period in horizontal position. Apart from this main target of the study, the results could allow a rough estimate of the load of creosote substances on the soil especially when the poles are stored and this load accumulates over...
Z Vassou, A Satanakis, C Koutsikopoulus, J Petinarakis


Moisture uptake and volumetric swelling as probable factors also affecting leaching in CCA-treated wood. A preliminary study of treated Eucalyptus saligna sapwood
2003 - IRG/WP 03-30318 IRG/WP 03-30318
A number of factors affecting leaching of CCA from treated wood have been variously investigated and discussed. However, the possible effects of moisture movement in treated timbers on leaching have not received attention yet. The present study examines and compares moisture uptake and volumetric swelling in CCA-treated and untreated sapwood of Eucalyptus saligna, and tries to establish a correl...
R Venkatasamy


Influence of pre-swelling conditioning on swellometer results for CCA and water repellent additive treated wood
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20125
The pre-test moisture content and conditioning history of wafers cut from wood treated with CCA and an emulsion water repellent additive can dramatically influence swelling curves generated using a standard swellometer apparatus. The rate of water uptake and swelling increased significantly as wafers were dried to lower moisture contents prior to immersion swelling. The pre-swelling conditioning h...
A R Zahora


Using image analysis to rate wood stain trials
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10034
Assessing the extent of fungal discoloration on wood during laboratory trials is a subjective process which provides an opportunity for considerable variation between individual evaluators of specimens. The development of reliable systems for automatically assessing discoloration would minimize evaluator bias and permit comparisons between results from different laboratories. The use of image anal...
C M Sexton, A G Maristany,C C Brunner, J J Morrell


Properties of hot oil treated wood and the possible chemical reactions between wood and soybean oil during heat treatment
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40304
Thermal treatment with hot oil as the heating media based on the original idea from oil-heat treatment in Germany was investigated. The treatment was mainly carried out at 200ºC and 220ºC for 2 hours and 4 hours, and the wood species were mainly spruce and fir. This paper focuses on the difference between soybean oil and palm oil and the possible chemical reactions between wood and soybean oil. ...
Jieying Wang, P A Cooper


A novel device for detecting internal defects in wooden poles
1989 - IRG/WP 2329
The diagnosis of internal defects caused by termites and decay in hardwood transmission poles has been investigated using a novel Automatic Feed Drill (AFD) pole testing device. Internal defects were recognised by changes in drill feed-rate as the automatic air-driven drill traversed its 100 mm working stroke. The instrument is portable, simple to operate and recognises defects instantaneously. Te...
R A Eaton, R S Johnstone


L-joint trials: Part 2: The relationship between colonisation by decay fungi and long-term performance
2002 - IRG/WP 02-20251
Many of the L-joint trials conducted at BRE were assessed during the early stages to establish the rate of colonisation by fungi, principally basidiomycetes. At that time, a system of assessment incorporating colonisation studies was proposed for inclusion within the European Standard EN 330 but was rejected for the final version of the standard. The long-term trials associated with the colonisa...
J K Carey


Efficiency of wood impregnation processes
1980 - IRG/WP 3151
Many wood impregnation processes have been in use for a very long time, up to 150 years, but they have not been progressively modified. This paper considers impregnation processes in relation to current requirements, particularly impregnation efficiency and energy consumption. The term 'pore' is used throughout in its physical sense and is not confined to botanical 'pore...
B A Richardson


An initial evaluation of the environmental impact of potential marine biocides
1978 - IRG/WP 441
Pilings and other structures in the marine environment are protected primarily by impregnation with creosote alone, or in combination with coal tar or waterborne preservatives such as copper-chrome-arsenate. Some of these materials are considered as possible ecological hazards and face an uncertain future; perhaps newly developed treatments to replace these conventional ones will pose different pr...
J D Bultman, P J Hannan


L-joint trials: Part 3: Relative performance of a range of preservative products
2002 - IRG/WP 02-30292
Long-term trials using the L-joints described in BS EN 330 and AWPA Standard E9-97 have been in progress at BRE since 1982. This paper records the current assessments of decay of L-joints in trials started between 1982 and 1994 with treatments applied to both Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) and spruce (Picea sp.). Data are provided on a range of active ingredients including TnBTO, PCP, a...
J K Carey


L-joint trials: Part 1: Observations on the process of colonisation and decay
2002 - IRG/WP 02-20250
The first trials using the small L-joint, later adopted for use in BS EN 330 and AWPA Standard E9-97 were exposed at BRE in 1975 but all were assessed destructively during the early stages of exposure. The longest running trial which included replicates for long-term exposure will have been exposed for 20 years in July 2002. This paper provides an overview of the results of testing during that p...
J K Carey


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