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A guideline for sorting easy to impregnate Scots pine sapwood based on three treatability studies from Northern Europe
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40669
Scots pine sapwood is generally considered an easy to impregnate wood species, though it reportedly faces challenges towards a homogeneous impregnation and large variations in treatability are reported for the material. This study comprises the results of three treatability tests that were performed on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood. The material impregnated was originated from a large ...
K Zimmer, E Larnøy, A Treu


The role of hydrophobins in surface growth by the Blue Stain fungi Aureobasidium pullulans
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10837
Hydrophobins are small proteins found exclusively in filamentous fungi. These proteins are able to assemble spontaneously into amphiphilic monolayers at hydrophobic–hydrophilic interfaces. Hydrophobins have a diverse role, e.g. allowing the fungi to break through interfaces during aerial hyphae formation, sporulation, fruit body production and cell penetration. In this ongoing study, we are look...
J Stenbæk, L Riber, J Blæsbjerg Nielsen, C Møller Hansen, B Jensen


Field Performance of Old-Growth and Second-Growth Western Red Cedar Fence Posts with and without Barrier Wraps
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10838
Many authors have suggested natural durability may be lower in second-growth western redcedar than in old-growth. One potential means of offsetting a decline in durability is use of physical barriers to separate the wood from soil. In the present work we compared the durability of old-growth and second-growth western red cedar posts, with and without barrier wraps, in a field test. After ten year...
P I Morris, J K Ingram, R Stirling


Investigations on the durability of several Congo basin wood species
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10840
The sawdust of ten wood species was studied to assess their natural resistance to decay. The extractives and lignin contents were primarily determined (between 2.7-16.0% and 26.8-35.9% respectively) to give an overview of the chemical distribution. Then, a phytochemical screening (colorimetric methods) characterized the different chemical functional groups in all extracts studied. Antioxidant act...
S Mounguengui, J-B Tchinda Saha, M Kor Ndikontar, S Dumarçay, C Attéké, D Perrin, E Gelhaye,


Effects of UV Radiation on Melanization and Growth of Fungi Isolated from Weathered Wood Surfaces
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10842
This research tests the hypothesis that fungi isolated from weathered wood will respond to elevated levels of UV radiation by increasing their melanin production. To test this hypothesis, we measured the melanin production and mycelial color of Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, before and after the fungi were grown under artificial UV, visible light and complete darkness. T...
V A Hernández, P D Evans


Development of a rapid screening method to determine the susceptibility to mould growth of novel construction and insulation products
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20562
Wood-based materials are commonly used in building construction/insulation as a replacement for solid timber. However, these materials are susceptible to microbiological growth and different environmental conditions influence the vulnerability of wood-based materials. Moulds are a common problem found within homes and cause aesthetic damage, health problems and can increase material vulnerability ...
B K Stefanowski, S F Curling, E Mansour, G A Ormondroyd


Interaction between Aspergillus niger fungus and other filamentous fungi on salt-agar medium and their growth on natural wood and wood treated with fungicide
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20569
Aspergillus niger (An) is very often used alone or in mixture with other filamentous fungi of the genus in testing biocides in disinfection procedures, safety, hygiene, medical fields as well as for testing resistance of wood and wood-based materials to moulds. Softwood species as well as hardwood are overgrown with An fungus very easily, causing drop of mainly the aesthetic value of wood product....
A Fojutowski, A Kropacz, A Koziróg


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


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


Formation of biofinishes on outdoor exposed wood; the impact of wood-oil combination and geographical location
2016 - IRG/WP 16-10864
Growth of dark moulds enables the use of a decorative and protective biofinish for wood, showing advantages compared to traditional wood-coatings in terms of sustainability and self-repair. Based on the formation of a uniform mould covering on oil treated wood during outdoor exposure, the utilisation of a biofinish is in development. Basic information is lacking on the correlation between exposure...
E J van Nieuwenhuijzen, L Ross Gobakken, M F Sailer, R A Samson, O C G Adan


Simulation of surface climate and mould growth on wooden façades
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20585
The weathering of wooden surfaces is normally caused by mould growth, lignin deterioration and leaching of extractives. For well insulated buildings, the effect of the interior climate on the outer surface is small and sometimes negligible. This paper describes simple models for surface temperature and moisture conditions on a wooden façade that can further be used to model weather degradation an...
T K Thiis, I Burud, D Kraniotis, L Ross Gobakken


Studying fungal growth using automated image analysis and computer simulations
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20590
Wooden materials are prone to fungal attack resulting in damage and economic losses. Therefore many efforts have been made to understand the degradation of wood and to avoid the adverse effect of fungi. Even though the extent of degradation of a material is inversely proportional to the extension of the fungi attacking it, most researchers focus mainly on the former, leaving the study of the latte...
G Vidal-Diez de Ulzurrun, J M Baetens, J Van den Bulcke, B De Baets


Effects of climatic factors and material properties on mould growth on untreated wooden claddings
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10884
Mould growth is an important contributor to colour change of untreated wood exposed outdoors. Predicting the development of mould growth is therefore important to ensure successful use of untreated wood as a façade material. More knowledge about the factors affecting mould growth on outdoor exposed wood is required to give better predictions. In this study, climatic factors and material propertie...
S Karlsen Lie, G I Vestøl, O Høibø, L Ross Gobakken


Fungal growth on coated wood exposed outdoors: influence of coating pigmentation, cardinal direction and inclination of wood surfaces
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10896
The objective of the SERVOWOOD project was to develop and establish European Standards that will facilitate the prediction of service life for exterior wood coatings. One of the objective of this project was to study fungal growth of the field exposed panels. Two coatings applied in 2 and 3 coats were exposed for one year outdoors at 45° south: one solventborne (alkyd based) and one waterborne (a...
L Podgorski, C Reynaud, M Montibus


An experimental study of mould growth and wood decay in timber frame walls
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20623
This paper deals with parameters related to the occurrence of mould growth and wood decay in timber frame walls. In a first part, the hygrothermal conditions inside a timber frame wall finished with brick veneer cladding are analysed to get an idea of possible moisture related problems. It is shown that, based on the VTT mould prediction model, there is a mould risk on the interface between the in...
M Vanpachtenbeke, J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, J Langmans, S Roels, J Van Acker


Hybrid green composites manufactured with glass fiber and jute fabric skin by VARTM process: Fungal, mold, and termite resistance tests
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40780
Hybrid green composites are increasingly used in building applications due to the development of new production approaches. Biological performance of such composites is needed when they are employed in extreme conditions. Hybrid composite panels were manufactured by wood furnish, glass fiber, and jute fabric skin by the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Petri dish test method was fol...
S N Kartal, E Terzi, M Muin, A H Hassanin, T Hamuoda, A Kilic, Z Candan


Multivariate modeling of mould growth in relation to extractives in dried Scots pine sapwood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20629
Influence of extractives on mould growth on Scots pine sapwood dried in air or in kiln was studied. Boards were sprayed with water mixtures of spores of the fungal species Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Paecilomyces sp., Trichoderma sp., treated at a temperature of 22ºC at 90% RH, classified into a percentage of covered area. Acetone and water extracts were isolated and analyzed for...
O Karlsson, O Myronycheva, M Sehlstedt-Persson, M Öhman, D Sandberg


Assessing the nutrient value of bio-based materials in relation to early fungal growth
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20631
Bio-based materials are gaining importance in the building industry, as the focus on sustainability and life-cycle-assessment has increased dramatically over the last decade. Wood and wood-engineered products as well as insulation materials made from flax, hemp, etc. are hence increasingly used. These materials originate from renewable resources and are often biodegradable, which can cause problem...
L De Ligne, J Van den Bulcke, J Baetens, B De Baets, J Van Acker


Impact of temperature and relative humidity on spatio-temporal fungal growth dynamics of Basidiomycetes
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10905
Basidiomycetes can cause considerable damage to wood and other bio-based building materials. Knowing at which environmental conditions these decay fungi generally thrive, and how the environmental conditions affect fungal growth characteristics, is therefore of particular interest. In this paper, we use image analysis to assess the impact of the environmental conditions on the growth dynamics of C...
L De Ligne, G Vidal-Diez de Ulzurrun, J Van den Bulcke, J M Baetens, B De Baets, J Van Acker


Visual appearance of unpainted wooden claddings during the first year of outdoor exposure: Evaluation of surface mould growth, lightness (L*) and wasp attack
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40841
This study addresses changes in visual appearance of unpainted wood materials exposed outdoors. Specimens of Norway spruce (Picea abies) Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), aspen (Populus tremula), acetylated Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) and DMDHEU-modified Scots pine sapwood were exposed facing south in Ås, Norway for 60 weeks. During this period, surface mould growth development and wasp attack were...
S Karlsen Lie, L Ross Gobakken, G I Vestøl, O Høibø


Facile in-situ growth of Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles on polydopamine modified bamboo with excellent mildew-proofing
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30734
Bamboo with good mechanical properties, fast growth rate and low growth cost is one of very utilitarian structural material from forest resources only less important than wood. But it is especially easy to mildew during outdoor service resulting in appearance mould scattering and corrosion. In this work, a facile method was developed to increased mildew-proofinging capability of bamboo. Mussel-ins...
J Hu, Z Lu, G Liu, S Chang, Y Liu, X Li


Study on the ability of wood-destroying fungi to grow through chemically modified wood
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40858
Over the last decades, chemical wood modification technologies were developed to increase the resistance against attack by wood-destroying organisms without using biocides. Most of those technologies are based on an impregnation step initially. In most treated wood products, mainly by using solid wood in thicker dimensions as in posts, poles, sleepers, deckings etc. it is known that wood impregnat...
L Emmerich, S Strohbusch, C Brischke, S Bollmus, H Militz


The impact of additional interior layers to the moisture dry-out and mould growth risk of CLT walls
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40876
The objective of this study was intended to determine the maximum allowable initial moisture content for CLT walls having both exterior and interior thermal insulation. A laboratory test was conducted, for which four test walls with two different insulation solutions and two different initial moisture contents were built. Based on the test results a simulation model was configured and simulations ...
V Kukk, J Kers, T Kalamees


Engineered wood constructions in Brazil: the challenge of protection against biodeterioration for market growth
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40878
This paper presents some thoughts about Brazilian wood constructions market regarding to biodeterioration and protection against biodeterioration, especially termites. Despite of being a forestry country, there is no tradition in wood engineered buildings and some prejudice must be overcome. New companies are interested in this market and as a continental country, different problems regarding of...
L F T di Romagnano, S Brazolin, G A da Silva, G A C Lopez


Fungal damages in Norwegian massive timber elements – causes and measures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40879
Massive wood elements are relatively new in Norway but the use is growing quickly, primarily the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT). Moisture performance of massive timber elements has been examined by some researchers, but more knowledge is needed. There is uncertainty regarding the need for vapour barriers or retarders in roof assemblies, and for practical reasons buildings are rarely assembled...
M S Austigard, J Mattsson


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