Your search resulted in 317 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Effect of densification of Eucalyptus nitens and E. obliqua on moisture uptake, swelling, decay resistance, and fire performance
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40946
Some Australian Eucalyptus species that are abundantly available have low natural durability and poor resistance to fire. These same species are also extremely difficult to treat with preservatives or fire retardants using conventional pressure treatment methods due to a large proportion of refractory heartwood. The aim of this research was to understand whether thermo-mechanical densification had...
B Hassan, J J Morrell, F Wiesner, W Wu, B Belleville, K C Wood
Moisture sorption behaviour of poplar and thermally modified poplar using dynamic vapour sorption (DVS)
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40947
The moisture sorption behaviour of wood has a critical impact on service life. In Europe, softwood is mostly used to manufacture engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) or glue-laminated timber (GLT or glulam). Yet fast-growing and widespread tree species such as hybrid poplar with or without modification, have potential to meet the increasing demand. This study shows the moi...
X Jiang, J Van den Bulcke, L De Boever, M Minsart, A Mignon, J Van Acker
Unlocking the potential of tropical fast-growing hardwood species
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11010
Social forestry or community managed forestry practices have been promoted as an inclusive way to mitigate climate change through the framework of the UNFCCC scheme of the Reduce Emission Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) programme. Fast growing wood species are one of the least tapped social forestry commodities in Southeast Asia, and they have the potential to be upscaled to meet the ...
S Fauziyyah, R Wimmer, C Brischke
Effect of Moisture Cycles and Timber Treatment on the Performance of Screwed Connections
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20694
The impact of moisture in timber structures is associated with the deterioration of timber, and loss of mechanical performance. Methods have been developed to treat timber using chemicals to inhibit deterioration, however, water intrusion has much more immediate effects on the mechanical properties of timber associated with swelling and shrinkage of the wood. The effects of moisture on the mechani...
L Yermán, M Xiao, Z Yan, L-M Ottenhaus
Moisture performance of wooden shingles tested on the Golobar cable yarding
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20704
Wood is a traditional roofing material in Europe and other parts of the world. In the 17th century, wooden roofing was generally used on more important buildings, but today it is mainly used on huts and houses in the Alpine regions. As wooden roofing is expensive, we investigated the possibility of extending the service life of the roofing through material selection and details. The roof of the Go...
M Humar, B Lesar, D Kržišnik
Biological durability and wood-water interactions of sorbitol and citric acid modified wood – Effects on the expected service life
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40960
A high level of research activities on sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood has been recognized in Europe over the last few years. As this treatment is close to entering an industrial-scale production, it is of interest to investigate how such treated wood performs upon long-term outdoor exposure. Hence, in this study Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was modified with aqueous sol...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz
Impacts of elevated moisture levels and subsequent drying on screwed
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40970
Mass timber (glue-laminated timber, cross laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber) are increasingly used in mid-to high rise structures in Australia where the climate is mainly sub-tropical with elevated moisture levels and high termite risk. Moisture intrusion poses a major challenge anywhere but becomes more critical under these conditions. Untreated/non-durable materials are consider...
C M T Roder, C D Gerber, J J Morrell
Failure characteristics of thermally modified poplar wood subjected to mechanical tests
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40983
Poplar (Populus spp.) are among the fastest growing timber species and have been widely planted for use in plywood, composites, pallets, furniture components and paper production. However, the low density of the wood limits many structural applications and the wood has little resistance to biodegradation. Thermal modification represents one approach to improving durability by changing the moistur...
E Bari, M Ghorbanian Far, N Moradi, J J Morrell, G Daniel, B Mohebby, R Hosseinpourpia, M Humar
Intra-species variability of moisture dynamics in wood
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11040
Moisture dynamics of wood and wood-based materials play a major role in wood durability against different decay organisms. Their impact becomes particularly evident when wood is exposed, but not permanently wet. To date, however, this has only been taken into account indirectly and therefore inadequately when testing the durability of wood. While test methods are available, for example to determin...
C Brischke, H Purps, L Emmerich
Wood above ground project – Results and future plans
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11041
In 2000, the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) initiated an extensive study to investigate the natural durability of wood. The study involved exposing wood in various orientations to assess its performance. A total of 35 wood material types were exposed at DTI test site in Taastrup, Denmark. Moisture content (MC) was measured through weighing for the initial five years, decay was assessed follo...
A W Christof, R Digaitis, P Fynholm, J Stenbaek, N Morsing, B Lindegaard
Investigating moisture dynamics and fungal decay risk: integrating X-ray CT visualization and simulation benchmarks through a Fungal Control Unit
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11045
Wood is susceptible to fungal attack and over time the structural integrity can be compromised. This risk is of course strongly related to moisture dynamics, as moisture is needed for fungal growth. While existing methodologies, such as lab and field tests, provide valuable insights into wood decay, they often fall short in replicating real-life conditions, particularly within the intricacies of t...
J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker, M Delbeke, A Blommaert, N Van Den Bossche, M Steeman, L De Ligne
International joint field trial on the moisture performance of wood – Set up and first results
2024 - IRG/WP 24-40996
Wood durability to decay stems from its inherent resistance to fungi resistance to fungi. In this regard, wood's ability to withstand moisture uptake plays an important role as the lower threshold for wood decay is a moisture content of 25%. However, the aspect of moisture resistance is not yet sufficiently emphasized as a durability factor, both in the assessment of durability as a material prope...
C Brischke, et al. (33 co-authors)
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
Analysis and performance of spruce alternative species and discarded wood for windows production
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50386
Climate change is having a significant impact on European forestry, particularly on the softwood species used for window frames. This study investigates potential replacement tree species for spruce (Picea abies), the predominant material for window frames. We evaluate Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), thermally modified poplar (Populus nigra) and discarded silver...
B Lesar, J Levanič, M Humar, A Treu
Determining the minimum water vapor permeability of exterior wood coatings by means of hygrothermal and decay models
2024 - IRG/WP 24-20717
The objective of this study was to determine the minimum water vapor permeability of exterior wood coatings for log homes using hygrothermal and decay modeling. The approach is based on a worst-case scenario assumption, namely a moisture trap at a given wood moisture content in a coated wall log. The minimum limit of vapor permeability of the coating system was determined by simulating the time re...
U Hundhausen, S Ullah, D Kraniotis