Your search resulted in 155 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Plywood under the scanner: linking moisture dynamics and 3D structure
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20491
Plywood is highly esteemed as a construction material. Yet, the influence of moisture on both strength and durability are important factors. Especially the dynamics of moisture desorption and absorption should be taken into account when assessing the quality of a panel, which is a fact for all panel materials. This paper therefore focuses on the monitoring of the moisture dynamics of plywood subje...
J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, N Defoirdt, J Van Acker
Durability of wooden shop-name signage coated with Urushi lacquer and gold leaf attached to the facade of building in Japan
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20493
Wooden shop-name signage plated with gold leaf is one of the characteristics of newly developed westernized commercial buildings appeared after the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 in Japan. The signage still remains mainly in old districts. The signage with independent letters (Chinese character) shows off the name of the shop with golden colour on the façade of building. The number of these shops...
K Yamamoto, M Kiguchi
Wood-leather panels – A biological, fire retardant building material
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40615
The poor flame retardant properties of wood-based products are among the severest obstacles, hindering its use in the commercial building sector. Recently, some attempts to improve the fire properties, relying on inflammable salts or reactive halogen compounds, have been presented, although they either cause problems with machining or embody harmful compounds (halogen derivates).
In this paper, ...
S Wieland, U Stöckl, T Grünewald, S Ostrowski, A Petutschnigg
Communities of mold fungi on flooded building materials
2013 - IRG/WP 13-10799
A small building built to residential code was flooded using farmland pond water to a depth of two feet at Tuskegee University. The building was drained and left enclosed for an additional three weeks. A total of 168 material samples were removed either immediately after opening (wet) or seven months after flooding (dry). Wall materials sampled included fiberglass batt insulation, gypsum wallboard...
F Skrobot III, H Aglan, S V Diehl
Method for determining the critical moisture level for mould growth on building materials
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20530
The natural conditions of relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) in different parts of a building is rarely constant over time. Instead, RH and T often vary cyclically and may pose a risk of mould growth as these conditions are the two key environmental parameters that controls mould growth. Consideration to both humidity and temperature conditions and the susceptibility to mould in a material...
A Ekstrand-Tobin, P Johansson, G Bok
Is there a role for termite alates in colony expansion in Wisconsin?
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10820
Termite colonies in Wisconsin tend to be large and widely spread out geographically, and separated by distances up to 1342km. We recently completed a study to determine the genetic diversity and population substructure of thirteen existing colonies of Reticulitermes flavipes using amplified fragment length polymorphism to determine patterns of termite dispersal in Wisconsin. Measures of inbreedin...
F Green III, R A Arango, G R Esenther, T G Shelton
Communities of mold fungi in moisture damaged building materials
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20542
The critical conditions needed for the development of mould and decay fungi have been modelled for different building materials. However, current knowledge of indoor microbes growing on building materials relies on culture-based methods and more advanced molecular biological techniques should be employed to study the complex microbial communities in building materials. In this paper molecular biol...
E Sohlberg, H Viitanen
The development of accelerated test systems to evaluate the durability of framing timber
2014 - IRG /WP 14-20547
Various accelerated decay resistance trials including small simulated wall units, samples exposed in enclosed tanks and ‘I’ samples in stacks have been explored and used to test the durability of treated and untreated radiata pine framing at Scion since 2001. These testing methods have been established to determine the effectiveness of commercial formulations in preventing decay in framing sub...
T Singh, D Page, J van der Waals
On-site remediation treatments for framing timber in leaky buildings
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20549
Weathertightness failures in New Zealand buildings due to the combined effects of cladding choices, design and construction faults and the use of untreated framing timber has led to the so called ‘leaky building syndrome’. The latest estimated cost of the leaky building crisis in New Zealand is about NZ$11 billion.
This research was conducted to provide a better understanding of the option...
T Singh, D Page, A Bennett
Biocidal Products Regulation – Structure and Impact for Product Authorization and Testing in EU
2014 - IRG/WP 14-50308
Since September 2013 the Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR) has been in force in Europe. BPR replaces the Biocidal Products Directive (EC/98/8) and in some respect marks a turning point in the European legislation concerning registration of all types of biocides.
BPR introduces some changes both for suppliers of active substances and for companies that produce and place biocide containing wood p...
M Klamer
Applicability of wood durability testing methods to bio-based building materials
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20561
It is well known that organic materials may be susceptible to attack from a range of fungal organisms and any bio-based material used in locations where there is the possibility of microbiological activity must be expected to be able to withstand or prevent such attack. There are a wide range of test methods and standards in place to test susceptibility although most of these test individual compo...
S F Curling, B K Stefanowski, E Mansour, G A Ormondroyd
Non-destructive monitoring of structure and moisture dynamics of plywood exposed outdoors to improve service life prediction and fit-for-purpose design
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20570
Plywood is an important construction material yet prone to water uptake, which can decrease strength and increase decay risk. To predict service life and improve fit-for-purpose design, it is crucial to understand the moisture behavior and structural changes of plywood. In this research, several plywood specimens were exposed outdoors for approximately one year. During this period, the moisture di...
W Li, J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, M Dierick, J Van Acker
Performance of bio-based building materials – viewpoints from the first year of COST Action FP1303
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20572
Maintaining and expanding the market potential for bio-based building products in indoor and outdoor construction uses remains a key activity for industries in the forestry and biotechnological sector, particularly in Europe. Whilst there are ongoing activities within IRG for collecting and populating a database on performance on wood, the performance data for many other (i.e. non-wood) "environme...
D Jones
Building solid foundations to support market growth of preserved wood in the UK – treatment quality, product approval and the largest national field trial of preservative treated wood in 50 years
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30662
The Wood Protection Association (WPA) has just commissioned Britain’s largest ever durability trial of home grown timber, having contracted Building Research Establishment (BRE) to conduct a long term controlled field trial of sawn and pressure treated British Softwood posts at two sites with differing soil conditions. This large scale Field Trial is the last of an innovative and substantial thr...
E Suttie, G Ewbank
Termiticide Residues in Building Foundation Aggregate Fills After Trench and Surface Applications
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30679
Termiticide concentrations (ppm) in aggregate fill were determined by measuring active ingredient (a.i.) residues of two pyrethroid termiticides, Up-Cyde Pro® 2EC-cypermethrin, and BaseLine® EC-bifenthrin, at 24.0 hours, and then at 6.0- and 12.0-months after ‘horizontal’ surface applications, perimeter ‘trenching and rodding’ applications, or ‘rodding only’ trench applications at lo...
B M Kard, C E Koneman, K T Shelton, C C Luper, R A Grantham
Modelling the performance of bio-based building materials
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20582
The ‘bio-based economy’ represents a growing area of development globally and covers a wide range of building materials including wood and wood-based products. A ‘bio-based’ material is intentionally made from substances derived from living (or once-living) organisms. In this context it means that the materials and products are made from renewable resources, with the criteria that a renewa...
C Brischke
Effect of Nano-Silane on Permeability in MDF as a Result of Susceptibility to Moulds and Fungi
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40716
Effects were studied of vapor chamber on specific gas permeability of nanosilane-treated medium-density fiberboards (MDF). Size range of nanoparticles was 20 – 80 nm. Nano-silane (NS) was used at four consumption levels of 0, 50, 100, and 150 g/kg dry wood fibers. Density of all treatments was kept constant at 0.67 g/cm3. Specimens were kept for 18 weeks in vaporized chamber; their specific gas ...
H R Taghiyari, J Norton, A Moradiyan, M Sadegh Taher Tolou Del, H Siahposht, B Moradi-Malek, M Noferesti
The durability of manufactured structural building materials
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40718
The projected market potential for Engineered Wood Products such as CLT (cross laminated timber) is very positive however, potential prolonged rain leakage or moisture exposure during construction and in-service could pose considerable concern for its durability and reputation. This research was conducted to assess the decay resistance of CLT and OSB (oriented strand board) in an accelerated trial...
T Singh, D Page
Hygrothermal performance of ventilated wooden cladding
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40733
The risk for an attack of wooden claddings by decay and discolouring fungi strongly depends on the moisture and temperature conditions in the building envelope. The design of the cladding has a major influence on its hygrothermal performance. In the present study, different wooden ventilated cladding designs were investigated at a test house in Mid-Norway for four years. The objective was to incre...
K Nore, U Hundhausen
The Environmental Impact of Timber Products Compared to other Building Materials - A Survey of Published Environmental Product Declarations
2016 - IRG/WP 16-50314
One of the positive aspects of using wood in construction is the environmental benefits that this can potentially bring. However, manufacturers of all construction products and materials make claims about the ‘environmental friendliness’ of their products, making it exceedingly difficult for the end user to make informed choices about the advisability of using one product over another. This st...
C Hill, J Dibdiakova
Laboratory test to determine the effect on durability of combining biobased building materials with timber in construction
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20604
The use of Structural Insulated panels is a construction approach that is seeing more abundant use and is becoming a widely available method. Preformed units are usually a composite structure which often include a range of bio-based materials such as timber, wool or straw. Traditional laboratory based wood decay tests do not take into account this combination of biobased materials and it may be po...
S F Curling, G A Ormondroyd
Moisture performance of wood determined in laboratory and field trials
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20621
It is widely accepted that wood moisture content (MC) is the key factor when it comes to durability of wooden structures exposed to weathering. The moisture performance of wood and wood-based products has been recognized as key element in wood durability and wood protection. Actually, it should be considered as major component of the material-intrinsic resistance of wood, but never found its way i...
D Kržišnik, N Thaler, B Lesar, M Humar
Service Life Forecasting and Planning – Why, and Concepts to do it
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20625
The importance of the building and construction sector in society cannot be overestimated. It is globally the major industry sector, a main contributor to gross domestic products, a dominant employer, and the main consumer of material resources and energy. The environmental impact of constructing, running and demolishing the built environment is huge. The products of construction are normally long...
C Sjöström
Controlled deposition of copper nanoparticles using wood inherent architecture as natural template
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40783
As one of the most abundant renewable biomass resources, wood can be used as templates for synthesizing functional nanoparticles with controlled shapes and sizes. In this study, copper nanoparticles were synthesized with controlled shapes and sizes using poplar wood as the natural inexpensive and renewable templates. The crystal structure and morphologies of the copper nanoparticles were character...
Youming Dong, Kaili Wang, Yutao Yan, Jianzhang Li, M Hughes, Shifeng Zhang
Durability of energy efficient wooden buildings: a building physical point of view
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40812
The drive for more energy efficient and sustainable buildings resulted in an increased popularity of wooden buildings, even in countries with a masonry tradition. Often guidelines and prescriptions then are copied from other countries. Different climatic boundary conditions and tradition of finishing, though, do require different moisture tolerance criteria. This is clearly the case for water vapo...
S Roels, J Langmans