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Developments within COST Action FP1303 related to the modification of wood
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40847
COST Action FP 1303 (Performance of bio-based building materials) was established in 2013 with the main aim to improve the knowledge on the performance of bio-based materials used as building products and the assessment of factors influencing these, with the aim of increasing their service life. This Action has helped in understanding the interlinked relationships between durability, product aesth...
D Jones


Long service life or cascading? The environmental impact of maintenance of wood-based materials for building envelope and their recycling options
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50336
A major restraint in choosing bio-based materials (i.e. wood-based) for external use, is the lack of confidence that architects, designers and customers have toward these materials. In particular, the limit state of bio-based materials, which defines the frequency of maintenance operations, might be reached earlier for wood than for other materials (i.e. concrete). On the other hand, resource and ...
M Petrillo, J Sandak, P Grossi, A Kutnar, A


Enhancing knowledge transfer in the wood protection sector
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50338
In order to meet the needs for the developing bio-based economy, maintaining and expanding the market potential for wood raw materials and wood products in indoor and outdoor construction uses remains a key activity for industries in the biotechnological and forestry sector respectively. A major restraint in this respect is the drastically deviating views and expectations on quality and performanc...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, S Bollmus, M Humar, D Jones, L Meyer-Veltrup, L Nunes


Declaring life cycle inventory of toxicity related emissions in environmental product declarations of preservative treated wood products
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50339
Life cycle assessment (LCA) including impacts on toxicity for preservative treated wood has been shown to have large uncertainties. With the growing demand for verified LCA in environmental product declarations (EPD), the need for reliable data is crucial for realistic assessment of wood products. Uncertainty is caused by several issues such as service life prediction, leaching rates and calculati...
L G F Tellnes, C Askham, P-O Flæte, M Klamer


Performance of untreated timbers in above ground decking tests: Preliminary results from an international collaborative trial
2019 - IRG/WP 19-10940
The ability to accurately predict wood decay risks under varying environmental conditions has long been of interest to timber users. Accurate predictions are difficult owing to the myriad of variables associated with the decay process including wood species, wood inhabiting organisms, timber building element design and environmental conditions. Despite these difficulties, decay predictions have be...
L P Francis, J Norton, E Melcher, A H H Wong, J Kok Lai, M Klamer, M J Konkler, J J. Morrell


Using X-ray micro-CT to evaluate density loss in anobiid infested wood
2019 - IRG/WP 19-10956
Considering the relevance of wood borers in construction, the present study had as main objective the evaluation of the impact of anobiid damage on timber elements by establishing an empirical correlation between lost material percentage (LM%, consumed by beetles) and apparent density (original – OTD and residual – RTD). Since the beetles’ attack produces a diffuse damage with a set of tunne...
J L Parracha, M F Pereira, A Maurício, P Faria, L Nunes


Comparative performance of wood/wood-based claddings predicted by four hygrothermal simulation tools
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20646
A number of hygrothermal numerical simulation packages are available, either wholly or partially dedicated to heat, air and moisture transfer simulations of building materials and wall assemblies. The objective of this work was to compare the hygrothermal responses and the moisture performance of western red cedar and composite wood claddings of a wood frame wall as predicted by four hygrothermal ...
M Defo, M Lacasse, A Laouadi


Performance of wood decking after 5 years of exposure: verification of the combined effect of wetting ability and durability
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20647
Wood is one of the most important construction materials and its use in building applications has further expanded in recent decades. In order to enable even more extensive and reliable use of wood, factors affecting wood’s service life need to be understood. More recently, a new concept to characterize the durability of wood-based materials and to predict the service lives of wood was proposed,...
M Humar, D Krzisnik, B Lesar, C Brischke


Durability by design – a case study of the performance of wooden decks after 9.5 years of natural weathering
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20648
The service life expected for wood decking manufactured with poorly durable wood species, left untreated and exposed to severe environmental conditions such as high humidity and active biological agents, is usually assumed to be short (less than 10 years). The current classification of wood’s natural durability is based on EN standardised tests which do not fully reflect the real end-use conditi...
M Kutnik, M Montibus


Validation by micro-computed tomography of an assessment method to measure the residual strength of anobiids infested timber
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20650
In this article a quantitative correlation study of pine timber structural elements, which have been subject to attack by anobiids, is presented. The main objective of the study was to establish a valid empirical correlation between the lost material percentage (consumed by beetles) and original/residual apparent density. Since the beetles’ attack produces a diffuse damage with a set of tunnels ...
J L Parracha, M F Pereira, A Maurício, P Faria, L Nunes


Visual assessment of longitudinal wheel timbers and assessing the feasibility of extending wheel timber service life in the UK railway network
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20651
Timber has been a versatile building material for centuries and during the start of the Railway Age in the nineteenth century it was in considerable demand for use in the railway network, particularly bridge building. Timber is still in service and widely used throughout the UK railway network. The resilience and favourable strength to weight ratio and its relative ease of fabrication make it an...
J R Williams


The Structural Performance of the Nail Driven into the Decayed Wood
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20652
In late years there are many actions to long-term excellent house realization. We have to consider repair or reinforcement for long-term and safety use of wooden house. There are various studies focused on structural performance of decayed wood. It is important for long-term use of wooden house that structural performance of nailed joint on decayed wood is accurately evaluated. However, there are ...
N Wada, H Isiyama


Performance of modified wood in service - multi-sensor data fusion and its multi-way analysis
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20660
Recent developments in the field of electronic sensors and analytics provide new opportunity for accurate characterization of materials often based on portable and non-destructive methods. By using several complementary techniques, the material description is precise and complete. The data provided by multiple equipment, however, are often not directly comparable due to different resolution, sensi...
A Sandak, J Sandak, M Cocchi


Performance based specification of wood – Introducing project CLICKdesign
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20661
This paper introduces the new ForestValue research project CLICKdesign – delivering fingertip knowledge to enable service life performance specification of wood. This European consortium is working on the primary innovation to move from the complex, fragmented and general to the easy-to-use, consolidated and specific by provision of an accessible digital tool for specifiers. Competing materials ...
E Suttie, C Brischke, E Frühwald Hansson, S Fortino, J Sandak, M Kutnik, G Alfredsen, C Lucas, R Stirling


Service life planning of wooden structures: Mathematical prediction models versus professional experience
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20663
During the last 15 years, enormous efforts have been made in developing models for predicting the service life of wooden structures and components. Currently, a framework of how exposure, dimension, design details and the material-intrinsic and the ability to take up and release water can be linked to model the moisture risk in wood products is in principle available. The aim of this study was to...
C Brischke, J Niklewski, M Humar, G Alfredsen


Protecting Sustainable Wood Infrastructure ̶ Improving the Performance of Poles, Piles, Ties & Timbers with Dual Treatments
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30735
Wood is by far the best structural material in terms of environmental impact, as shown by a number of LCA studies. This environmental impact superiority can be improved if the longevity of the commodity is extended. The main durability concern in large cross-section treated materials is the susceptibility of the heartwood to decay, as it is not typically treatable using traditional methods. This ...
J Lloyd, A Taylor, C Brischke, N Irby, M Manning


Identification of Antifungal Compounds in Konjac Flying Powder and Assessment against Wood Decay Fungi
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30737
The antifungal activity of konjac (Amorphophallus rivieri) flying powder (a by-product produced during mechanical processing of konjac flour) ethanol extract was evaluated against wood decay fungi in culture. Compounds associated with antifungal activity in the extracts were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography. The antifungal active fractions were identified by ultra-high-per...
Z Bi, F Yang, Y Lei, J J Morrell, L Yan


Performance of field cut preservatives above-ground and in ground contact exposures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30742
Field cut preservatives are needed to protect cut ends and drill holes that expose the untreated interior of preserved wood. A series of field cut preservatives were assessed in ground contact and above-ground exposures. After 10 years in ground contact exposure, all of the untreated controls had failed or exhibited very advanced decay. In contrast, the copper naphthenate (2% Cu in mineral spirits...
R Stirling, D Wong


The development of a suitable fire retardant for Radiata pine and other species
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30744
The use of fire retardant chemicals, with the overarching aim of creating a safer environment is not a new one, however it is generally under-developed and is often afflicted with an image of environmental and health issues and misperceived high costs. There is an ever-increasing need and desire for effective fire retardancy in timbers to inhibit or suppress the combustion process. This is paramou...
B R Derham, M R Fortune


Thermal performance and fire safety properties of traditional circumferential log-cabin walls
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40872
The paper describes the experiment of fire resistance of a circumferential log-cabin wall fragment using various structural modification of the gap between two log members. The influence of the gap structural modification on the criterion of fire resistance E (envelop integrity) and I (insulation) is evaluated. The evaluating criteria are represented by the development of temperatures measured in ...
S Jochim, L Makovicka Osvaldova, M Zachar, Z Danihelova


Natural durability and performance of Eucalyptus globulus single family house in Spain after 17 years exposure
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40873
From last century, in the country side in Spain is common to find wooden houses. The reason is mainly due the improvements in glues, materials, design by computer and processing in factories. All these technological advances have facilitated the development industrialized systems cheaper. However, the variety of row materials, designs and construction systems, combined with some hard climates, cou...
D Lorenzo, M Touza, J Fernandez-Golfín, A Lozano, J Benito


Protecting wood exterior infrastructures above ground in Spain. The importance of protection by design in the performance
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40874
Across Spain is very common to find wood exterior infrastructures build mainly in sawn and glue-laminated wood. Most of these exterior wood infrastructures use softwood wood species such as: fir, spruce, larch and pine. In Spain exterior wood infrastructures, became more and more popular since nineties, when sawn and glue-laminated wood were utilized for building exterior wood infrastructures in o...
D Lorenzo, M Touza, J Fernandez-Golfín, A Lozano, J Benito, M T Troya, L Robertson


Effect of pretreatment of wood surfaces with a copper monoethanolamine solution on the natural weathering performance of semitransparent stains
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40881
Semitransparent stains for wood products are favored for outdoor applications in Japan because these finishes do not hide the wood grain. However, the photoprotective effects of wood surfaces are low, therefor there is a need to improve the weathering performance. We examined the natural weathering performance of semitransparent stains on wood pretreated with a copper monoethanolamine solution (Cu...
S Isaji, H Shibui, Y Hirabayashi


Experimental study on compressive strength performance of cross laminated timber with biodeterioration damage
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40883
The mass timber construction has attracted attention around the world. The reasons are due to the environmental impacts and the potential of the strength performance and quantity of the wood. Nowadays, CLT is one of the most important materials for the timber constructions. If we use CLT as a building material, we should consider the biodegradation risk for long time use. From an estimation of fut...
T Mori, Y Otsubo, R Inoue, M Ikeda, K Kambara, W Ohmura


Influence of Drying Condition of Wood on Rusting of Nail
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40887
Recently in Japan, the durability of metal joint in wooden structures become important. Revised Building Standard Law was enacted in 2000 and Act on the Promotion of Popularization of Long-life Quality Housing was enacted in 2008 in Japan. Since then, the durability of the metal joints in the wooden houses becomes important. But there are not any detailed regulation for the durability of the metal...
H Ishiyama, N Wada, T Nishimura, T Mori


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