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Spanish termites standard UNE 56418:2016 “Protocol of action in urban areas affected by subterranean termite attacks”. Example of application of the standard in a real case in the old city of Vigo, Spain
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10912
Termites are wood destroying insects always present in the nature with an important wood decomposition function. In Europe are located in the Mediterranean area. In Spain is an important problem in urban areas. It is estimated about 80% of old historic cities in Spain are affected by subterranean termite attacks and it is the most important damage in wood structures and carpentries, in old buildin...
D Lorenzo, A Lozano, M Touza, J Benito, M T de Troya, J Galván, L Robertson


Biocontrol of wood decay insects and nematodes as an alternative to traditional chemical treatments
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10914
The protection of wood has been defined until relatively recently, as the application of a chemical to increase its durability. On the other hand, society is becoming more and more demanding in terms of the use of products which have the minimum ecological impact. This has led many countries to reduce the list of biocidal products that can be used (European Biocides Regulation), therefore it is ne...
L Robertson, J F Galván, F Llinares, R Viñambres, M T de Troya


Material Resistance and Chemical Composition of Italian Stone Pine (Pinus pinea)
2018 - RG/WP 18-20645
Relevant properties of stone pine (Pinus pinea) wood have been only fragmentarily addressed in the past, which has been recognized as a limiting factor for its potential applications. The amount of the respective wood species on the market will likely increase in the future. The sorption properties, permeability to water, extractives content and durability against fungi of Pinus pinea sapwood and ...
M Humar, M De Angelis, M Romagnoli, V Vek, I Poljanšek, P Oven, N Thaler, B Lesar, D Kržišnik


Effects of wood protecting biofinish and linseed oil on fire behaviour and leachability of the fire retardant
2018 - IRG/WP 18-30728
A wood protecting biofinish is based on a protective and decorative fungal-based coating and a linseed oil impregnation (called Xyhlo biofinish). This biofinish enables the long-term use of wood in outdoor applications without using toxic chemicals. The fire resistant properties of materials used in buildings are very important. Since Xyhlo biofinish is relatively new, only little information is ...
S Rensink, E J van Niewenhuijzen, M F Sailer


Enhancing service life performance of oak decking and cladding using organosilicon treatments
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40838
The Life+ project SILEX, in full “Improving sustainability of construction materials using innovative Silicon based treatment” started in April 2013 and was finalized mid 2017. The aim of this project was to demonstrate that a new class of compounds can be used for wood treatment for an extended service life combined with enhanced new testing methodology. Ultimately, it was the intention to de...
J Van Acker, J Van den Bulcke, J-P Lecomte


Natural durability of four Tunisian Eucalyptus wood species and their respective compositions in extractives
2019 - IRG/WP 19-10942
In the 50’s, Tunisia government introduced more than 11 Eucalyptus wood species. Eucalyptus species were planted in Tunisia in different arboreta throughout the country for close observation and adaptation to climate and soil. These fast-growing wood species were mainly used as fire wood, for the production of mine wood and to fight against the erosion. These tree species were adapted themselve...
S Ben Ayed, M T Elaieb, S Dumarçay, B De Freitas Homen De Faria, M-F Thévenon, P Gerardin, K Candelier


Application of nano metal fluorides against termites
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30733
Recent research has shown that fluorides such as NaF have potential as a wood preservative against termite attack (Pan and Wang, 2015). However, NaF has high leaching susceptibility because of its solubility (40 g/l ) which can reduce its efficacy over long term. Metal fluoride nanoparticles such as MgF2 and CaF2 present a viable alternative to water soluble fluoride-based wood preservatives as th...
S M Usmani, K Klutzny, Y de Laval, R Plarre, D McMahon, I Stephan, T Hübert, E Kemnitz


Biosourced hybrid phenolic resins as coatings for the protection of wood and wood composites
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30745
Biosourced phenolic resins, based on the phenol-formaldheyde (PF) type, were prepared for their application as coating for wood and wood composites protection, especially against fire. The resins were synthesized by combining an organic polymeric matrix with another inorganic phase. The organic phase was prepared substituting phenol by natural phenolic compounds such as lignin and tannins. The ino...
P L de Hoyos-Martínez, R Herrera, J Labid, F Charrier El Bouhtoury


Towards better integration of wood protection in the forestry wood industry chain - a case study on hybrid poplar
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50359
Wood and wood products are limited in service life as in the forest ecosystem trees at end of their life are degraded to re-enter the bio-geochemical cycle. Humans can select wood species with a level of natural durability fit for an envisaged end use. Mainly those applications that require a long service life under conditions that are similar to those at soil level in a forest ecosystem have been...
J Van Acker


Pigment production by the spalting fungus Scytalidium ganodermophthorum and its industry potential
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10957
Scytalidium ganodermophthorum is best known as a pathogen of cultivated mushrooms, with infected cultures turning yellow in color. The fungus is also used in the art form known as ‘spalting’ to produce yellow, green, and purple colors in wood for decorative purposes. Wood colored by fungus in this manner has been traditionally used in the creation of fine art and woodworking since the 16th cen...
R C Van Court, P Vega Gutierrez, S C Robinson


Modelling decay rates of timber exposed above ground on four different continents
2020 - IRG/WP 20-20670
Durability performance data from an international decking trial were analysed to explore relationships with climate variables, particularly those related to temperature and rainfall. Matched decking samples of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) sapwood and heartwood, spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) were exposed to the weather above...
L P Francis, J J Morrell, C Brischke, P B Van Niekerk, J Norton


Impact of fungal decay on the bending properties of wood
2020 - IRG/WP 20-20671
Wood used outdoors is generally prone to fungal degradation, and its impact on the structural integrity of wood is an immanent factor for service life planning with timber. Wood decayed to very small mass losses can suffer from a significant reduction in mechanical strength and elastic properties. Hence, the latter are preferred indicators to detect decay in wood durability studies. Numerous previ...
S Bollmus, P B van Niekerk, C Brischke


Biofinish: A Functional Wood Surface Treatment based on Aureobasidium
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40903
Xyhlo Biofinish is a natural and environmentally friendly wood protection concept based on linseed oil impregnation and a fungal-based coating. It emerged in the late 1990s and has been developed over the past 15 years into an industrially applicable process in the Netherlands. The combination of linseed oil impregnation and a surface treatment with the living fungus Aureobasidium extends the serv...
S Rensink, M Sailer, S Roukens, J Gerber, H van der Mel, K Potgieter, J Spit, R Bulthuis, C Struck, M Bennink


Evaluation of decay and energy properties from thermally modified biomasses during fungal deterioration by NIR-spectrometry
2021 - IRG/WP 21-40922
This study is focused on the prediction of fungal weight loss (WL) and high heating value (HHV) from raw and torrefied waste lignocellulosic feedstocks, according to their exposure duration to wood-destroying fungi, using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and chemometrics models. Sugarcane bagasse, coffee husk, eucalyptus and pine shavings were torrefied at 290 °C in a screw reactor, during 5, 7...
B de Freitas Homem de Faria, P Santana Barbosa, J Valente Roque, A de Cassia Oliveira Carneiro, P Rousset, K Candelier, R F Teofilo


Using satellite-retrieved soil moisture data to model the decay risk of in-ground timber
2022 - IRG/WP 22-20689
Satellite-derived soil moisture data from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) was extracted for a 9 x 9 km point grid over Europe. The data was then used as input to a dose-response wood decay model based on terrestrial microcosm (TMC) tests. The resulting hazard map plotted dose as an indicator of in-ground wood decay based on differences in annual temperature and soil moisture characteristic...
P B van Niekerk, M Schönauer, B N Marais, C Brischke


Simulations of microclimates for wood-decaying fungi in the built environment using environmental analysis
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20703
Simulations of fungal decay risk were run on two similar building geometries exposed to typical annual climate conditions of two different geographical locations, Brunswick (Germany) and Cairns (Australia). The simulations were conducted to capture the effect of wind-driven rain and solar irradiation exposure over nodes of the common building geometry. The moisture content and temperature variatio...
P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, S H Hosseini, B N Marais, I Frimannslund, T Kringlebotn Thiis, C Brischke


What products are architects using? Relationships between deterioration part and structural performance in wooden houses
2023 - IRG/WP 23-50374
Architects work in the development of ideas around buildings and all the nuclei where human activity is generated. It is a work of organization of matter, in time and space, where the conceptual world of ideas and the aspirations of inventions, the interior world interact with the exterior in many kinds of realities. But as architects, we have always been interested in why and how things have bee...
I de las Casas


Utilising novel service life prediction methods for robust and precise Life-Cycle-Costing (LCC)
2023 - IRG/WP 23-50384
Life-Cycle-Costing (LCC) is one of the basic indicators for the assessment of sustainability and cost effectiveness in construction applications. Project WoodLCC was thus conceived to enable LCC through input from models for detailed service life planning of wooden components and buildings. The project is a continuation of the service life planning research conducted in Europe over the last three ...
P B van Niekerk, G Alfredsen, T Kalamees, R Modaresi, A Sandak, J Niklewski, C Brischke


Studies on the treatability of selected pine species and corresponding efficacies of a new non-biocidal treatment
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20721
Wood decay caused by fungi may reduce the service life of wood in outdoor applications. Since moisture conditions in wood occur as one of the most crucial parameters for fungal decay, chemical modifications, which affect the latter, may increase the resistance of wood against such organisms. Usually, pine sapwood is easier to chemically treat than heartwood, as the former generally shows good perm...
T R da Silva Lins, L Emmerich, H Militz, P H Gonzales de Cademartoni, R J Klizke, M Pereira da Rocha


Phytosanitary heat treatment of wood in a laboratory drying oven and, in a pilot-scale kiln using the house longhorn beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus) larvae as a model
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20722
International trade in wood products brings the risk of the movement of tree pests which can cause devasting ecosystem and economic damage. International phytosanitary guidelines were created to help countries that import wood products. Import requirements intend to minimize pest spreading. Thus, the ISPM 15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15) which specifies the “Regulat...
B Rubio, C L’Hostis, M Montibus, I Paulmier, C Brunet, L Charron, J-P Gaussorgues, C Guiberteau, V Vlahakis, F-R de Cibon, I Le Bayon


How personality traits influence the perception of fungal decay in a wooden cladding – A survey in three Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41002
This study examined perceptions of fungal decay damage on wooden cladding across Norway, Sweden, and Germany. The majority of respondents across all countries did not find the fungal decay damage in question acceptable, with the least acceptance in Norway. This could be due to Norway having the highest frequency of wooden residential buildings and the most experience with maintaining wooden claddi...
G W Gustavsen, G Alfredsen, P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, C Brischke


Modelling the service life of wood in ground contact – Verification of remotely sensed soil data from the reanalysis dataset ERA5-Land using in-situ measurements at a test site of utility poles in Eastern Norway
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41003
This study compared soil moisture and temperature estimates from the 5th European reanalysis (ERA5-Land) dataset with in-situ measurements to assess the accuracy and applicability of ERA5-Land data for modelling the service life of wood in ground contact. The ERA5-Land soil temperature estimates showed a moderate correlation with the in-situ temperature measurements (Spearman’s ρ of 0.73) and a...
U Hundhausen, P B van Niekerk, B Marais


Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41005
Sustainable use of wood requires an understanding of expected service life, particularly when the material is exposed to outdoor conditions and, thus, fungal decay. Since moisture is the primary vector for fungal decay, accurate moisture prediction is a key component in service life assessment. For this purpose, the present study leverages existing measured data for linear regression of in-field m...
J Niklewski, P B van Niekerk, L Meyer-Veltrup, J Sandak, C Brischke


Changes in decay risk of wood in ground contact over Europe, from analysis of historic climate conditions
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41008
Changing climate conditions will affect global temperature and precipitation patterns, shifting some geographical areas into states that are more suitable for fungal wood decay. Climate normals, which are taken over a 30-year period, capture vast spatial and temporal variations in these conditions and comparing these can show changes over time. Importantly, being able to identify locations that ha...
P B van Niekerk, B N Marais, G Alfredsen, C Brischke


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