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Postia placenta cellulase gene expression in modified wood during incipient decay
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40626
In optimization of modified wood, it is important to understand the mode of action of the wood modification and how the fungi response to it. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of cellulases during the first two weeks of Postia placenta exposure in acetylated, DMDHEU-treated and thermally modified as well as in untreated wood. Using real-time PCR, the gene expression patterns ...
R Ringman, A Pilgård, K Richter


Performance of Coatings on Wood Treated with Carbon-Based Preservatives
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40638
Wood treated with carbon-based preservatives is often used in applications where coatings are required, yet few studies have examined the effect of such treatment on coating performance. Users need to be confident that coatings on carbon-based preservative-treated wood will perform as well as or better than those on untreated wood. The present study examines the performance of three coatings on un...
R Stirling, P I Morris


Durability of alternatives to CCA-treated wood - Results from field tests after 11 years exposure
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30633
The present study was initiated as a consequence of restrictions against the use of CCA-type wood preservatives in Sweden in the 1990s. New copper-based formulations were introduced on the market and to some extent, also alternatives to preservative-treated wood, such as thermally and chemically modified and linseed oil treated wood as well as heartwood of non-tropical naturally durable wood s...
P Larsson Brelid, M-L Edlund


Estimation of service life of treated wood in ground contact based on early indicators
2013 - IRG/WP 13-20536
A well-known problem with field testing is that it takes a long time before meaningful and reliable results are achieved. Only when a trial has come to an end the so called average life for the samples in a group can be calculated and compared with other samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate if it is possible to get a reasonable and good estimation of the average life long befor...
M Hansson, J Jermer, P Larsson Brelid, N Terziev


Critical moisture levels and mould resistance of five different wood treatments
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30632
Mould resistance of five different treatments were tested using two methods, a recently developed method for the determination of critical moisture levels of building materials (RHcrit), and ASTM D3273-94. The critical moisture level method exposed samples at 22 °C and 98, 92, 86 and 82% relative humidity (RH) for 12 weeks. ASTM D3273-94 was performed at 29 °C and about 95% RH. Treatments c...
G Bok, P Johansson, A Ekstrand Tobin, S Bardage


Protein extraction from wood decay fungus Postia placenta
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10827
Wood decay fungi (often distinguished as white rot and brown rot) belonging to the basidiomycetes, are common inhabitants of forest litter, where they play an important role in carbon cycling. Brown rot fungi are perhaps the most important organism involved in the degradation of wood products, and of considerable economic importance. Brown rotted wood loses strength very early because of the rapid...
A Pilgård, P Arnold, K Richter


Moisture performance testing of wood – Practical experiences
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20546
Different methods are used to characterize the moisture performance of wood and to quantify the effect of moisture loads on the resulting service life. These methods can be divided into direct and indirect methods. Furthermore they can be distinguished by characteristics like continuous or periodical measurements and measuring local or global moisture content (MC). Furthermore each measuring metho...
L Meyer, C Brischke, M Kasselmann, C Rösmann


Selection of Wood-Rotting Basidiomycetes for Inoculation of an Accelerated Soil Bed Test
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20543
There is a need for a test method that guarantees exposure of treated wood to soil and preservative-tolerant wood-rotting basidiomycetes as standard field tests do not do this reliably. The ability of a range of selected wood-rotting basidiomycetes to grow through unsterile forest soil was investigated in a Mason jar test assembly. None of the white-rot fungi in test grew through this soil. Fou...
P I Morris, A Uzunovic, J Ingram


Statistical analysis of 40 years of preservative in-ground stake testing in Australia
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20552
Wood is widely recognized as a valuable material, yet the natural durability of some wood species limits its use for certain outdoor purposes. For decades, a wide range of methods and chemicals have been developed to increase the resistance of wood against degrading microorganisms and termites. Preservative treatment has a long and widespread tradition in wood protection. Proper testing of the eff...
J Van den Bulcke, L J Cookson, I De Windt, W Li, J Van Acker


Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate Preservative Treated Wood Ties Their Performance in Testing and Track
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30636
While not a new preservative system, Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate (ACZA), had not previously been used to protect crossties. Its performance in treating difficult or refractory species of wood has been documented through its wide range of uses approved in AWPA. The establishment of appropriate testing for railroad material use was put in place and includes laboratory, field as well as commercia...
T Carey


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


Above ground field testing: results of experiments in Brazil after one year
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30660
After the development of new products they need to be field-tested to assess their efficacy under diverse conditions of climate, comparing them with a preservative with proven efficacy. In some testing sites, decay occurs very slowly. The solution would be to bring these tests to locations that are conducive to biodeterioration, like tropical climates. Tropical sites provide higher temperature and...
M F Natale, J M Vidal


Mould growth on spruce claddings and the effect of selected influencing factors after 4 years of outdoor testing
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30671
Norway spruce (Picea abies) is the most frequently chosen wood species as claddings in façades in Norway, and is used both coated and uncoated. The visual changes that occur during weathering can be colour changes, abrasion or wear, blistering, flaking, and even cracks in the wood or coating, but more often growth of mould and blue stain fungi is the main challenge. A field test with synchronous monitoring of relative humidity, air temperature, material temperature and wood moisture content in Norway spruce claddings has been performed in southern Norway as part of the ClimateLife project. Visual evaluation of blue stain and mould growth according to EN 927-3 was performed, and evaluation data after 46 months exposure is presented. The objectives were to study the effect of 1) environment, 2) cardinal direction and 3) colour of the coated surface on growth of blue stain and mould fungi and to study the variation in relative humidity, air temperature, wood moisture content and material temperature. After 46 months exposure, the red coating system had generally the lowest mould ratings and the uncoated claddings had the highest. Of the white coloured claddings the ones facing south had lower mould ratings than those facing north, but the opposite were found for red coloured claddings. The relative humidity was higher in front of claddings exposed northwards and in a shaded environment compared to an open environment against south. In an open environment red coloured claddings had the lowest wood moisture content and highest material temperature, and red coloured claddings against south had the highest maximum material temperature.
L Ross Gobakken, G I Vestøl


The resistance of composite boards protected with azole and inorganic nanoparticles to basidiomycetes and moulds
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40688
This paper presents a study on the resistance of wood composite boards, glued with silicone adhesive and obtained from chips of Scots pine Pinus silvestris L. and willow Salix viminalis L., to basidiomycetes and mould. The boards were protected in the production processes with fungicides based on metal nanoparticles, as well as on derivatives of 1,2,4-triazole, benzimidazole, and thiazole. The bio...
J Zabielska-Matejuk, I Frąckowiak, A Stangierska


Some comments on durability testing of WPC according to EN 15534-1
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40695
The standard EN 15534-1 (2014) gives advice for broad characterization of WPC materials and products. It contains instructions for test procedures concerning different properties e.g. mechanical properties, thermal properties, as well as durability. In this paper some WPC materials from the market were tested for their resistance against brown rot. Furthermore, the water uptake and bending prope...
S Bollmus, A Gellerich, H Militz


How does the test methodology influence the outcome of durability testing of thermally modified wood
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40699
Thermally modified wood is commercially available on the European market since many years. Today, many production units with various production capacities and different modification processes exist. Industrial scale wood heat treatment processes, under the trade name of ThermoWood were developed in Finland. ThermoWood has two standard treatment classes with different target properties, namely Ther...
A Gellerich, S Bollmus, H Militz


High-frequency monitoring of mass loss due to brown rot degradation of modified wood
2016 - IRG/WP 16-10862
Fungi growing in liquid culture undergoes three separate phases in which they i) adapt to the new environment, ii) grow unrestrictedly and exponentially, and iii) are inhibited to increase in number/mass due to lack of nutrients etc. Filamentous fungi have been shown to exhibit similar growth phases in a solid food substrate and have been modelled to grow in this way also in solid wood. In modifie...
R Ringman, A Pilgård, K Richter


Global survey on durability variation – on the effect of the reference species
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20573
Climate change due to anthropogenic emissions is the largest environmental challenge of our time. Forest-based value chains play an important role in reducing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Maximizing the use of wood to tackle climate change requires improved understanding of the service life of timber products. This information can best be obtained from field testing and while there i...
R Stirling, G Alfredsen, C Brischke, I De Windt, L P Francis, E Frühwald Hansson, M Humar, J Jermer, M Klamer, M Kutnik, P Laks, I Le Bayon, S Metsä-Kortelainen, L Meyer-Veltrup, P I Morris, J Norton, T Singh, J Van Acker, J Van den Bulcke, T M Venås, H Viitanen, A H H Wong


Moisture induced risk and fungal development in various field test set-ups in and above ground
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20577
A high number of studies on the decay performance of wood in outdoor exposure have been conducted in the past. However, no testing methodology for wooden components exposed above ground reflecting the variety of different loads has been established so far. Many test protocols were modified in different ways throughout the years and results were often published in an encoded or incomplete way. This...
L Meyer-Veltrup, C Brischke


Selection of most aggressive test fungi for modified wood - Practical laboratory experience
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20579
One main objective of wood modification processes is the improvement of the durability against wood destroying organisms. Therefore, investigations of the resistance against wood destroying fungi have been one of the main focus within the last years. For the interpretation of the durability results, the selection of suitable test fungi is one of the main questions. A “wrong” fungus species may...
A Gellerich, S Bollmus


Bundle tests - Simple alternatives to standard above ground field test methods
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20581
Within this study we applied different new above ground test set ups to untreated Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.) which are frequently used as reference or control species in wood durability field tests. The overall aim of this study was to find a simple alternative method to the few standardized above ground field test methods, such as the L-joint a...
C Brischke, L Meyer-Veltrup


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


Evaluation of field test data
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20594
The resistance against fungal decay and insect attack of wood can be highly variable, between boards and even within boards. The variability in durability is not always an issue, but for high demanding applications information about its reliability is required. This comprises the variability of outdoor performance. Durability testing in laboratory and outdoor exposures can provide a good basis to ...
F Bongers, C Brischke, J Van den Bulcke, W Gard, I De Windt, H Militz


Decay resistance of wood treated with bio-friendly preservative systems
2016 - IRG/WP 16-30698
Due to more restrictive toxicological requirements and increased ecological awareness of consumers, wood preservatives containing biocides are no longer desired on the market. Therefore, research on new environmentally friendly formulations is of great importance. One of the possible solutions is to develop new preservatives based on natural substances, which are harmless to humans, animals and th...
B Mazela, G Cofta, W Perdoch, L Ross Gobakken, P Kwaśniewska-Sip


Estimation of wood degradation determined by visual inspection, mechanical testing and DNA characterisation – report after 3 years of exposure
2016 - IRG/WP 16-30700
The influence of two separate treatments, thermal modification and alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ, Silvanolin©) treatment, on fungal decay, visual disfigurement, deterioration in mechanical properties and fungal community structure was assessed on Norway spruce (Picea abies) and compared with the performance of two naturally more resistant tree species native to North America: Douglas fir (Pseud...
N Thaler, T Martinović, M Bajc, D Finžgar, H Kraigher, A Sinha, J J Morrell, M Humar


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