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Durability of Fence Posts of Four Wood Species After 20 Years in Field Test
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30670
In the past years, wood consumption from native forests has drastically reduced the availability of wood. Fast-growing species such as Pinus and Eucalyptus suitably impregnated with chemicals may show a service life equal or higher than hardwood with high natural durability. The field tests have been an alternative widely used to evaluate the durability of wood and the efficiency of preservatives....
A Florian da Costa, A C Salgado de Freitas, E Meneses Oliveira


The situation of the industrial protection of wood in Argentina (La situación de la protección industrial de la madera en Argentina)
2015 - IRG/WP 15-30675
Argentina holds 33 million hectares of native forests and 1.2 million hectares of cultivated forests, which make it the 3rd Latin American country with the largest surface of cultivated forests of the region. (Ministry of Industry, 2012). The industrial impregnation of wood through vacuum pressure was first implemented in our country in the year 1932, and currently there are over 100 active plants...
D A Gherscovic


Diagnosis and control of pathology of wood used in the Alahambra Palace, Santiago de Chile
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40711
In 2008, the National Monuments Council, invites bids for the work control termite infestation in the Alhambra Palace, located in Santiago. As part of this service our company decides to make a pathological diagnosis to allow us to make the minimum of damage to the building but maximum control first. The collection of information in the field, the use of advanced technologies and our experience an...
J Poblete Escanilla, P Astaburuaga Merino


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


Decay of wood in outdoor above ground applications: Preview of results on the effect of climate and species in Spain
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20600
Within the framework of the Project BIA-42434R titled ‘Evaluation of the functional performance of wood in outdoor above ground applications’, seven trials containing seven pieces of sawn wood measuring 750x100x20mm3, belonging to seven different wood species (Scots pine, Radiata pine, Laricio pine, sweet chestnut, eucalyptus, Thermo-treated radiata pine and Spruce), were exposed to unprotecte...
J I Fernández-Golfin Seco, M Conde García, M R Diez Barra, M Conde García, L Acuña Rello, E Torres Álvarez, E Perea Alonso, M T Troya


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


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


Insight in moisture dynamics of wood treated with organosilicon compounds
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20598
The SILEX project “Improving sustainability of construction materials using innovative Silicon based treatment” is a Life+ project with reference LIFE+11 ENV/BE/1046 and started in April 2013. This project intends 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. The project aims at demonstra...
J Van Acker, J Van den Bulcke, I De Windt, S Colpaert, S De Rocker, S Salvati, J-P Lecomte


The termite resistance of wood impregnated with nano-zinc oxide and nano-zinc borate dispersions
2016 - IRG/WP 16-30691
In this work, the effects of the impregnation with nano-ZnO and nano-ZnB dispersions on the termite resistance of European beech wood were investigated. Three different concentrations (namely 0.5%, 1% and 2%) of the above two materials were tested. Water leaching effect was also investigated. It was concluded that a severe effect in terms of termite workers mortality is induced by the use of both ...
C Lykidis, T de Troya, M Conde, J Galván, G Mantanis


Wood properties modification by an enzymatic assisted treatment with phenolic extractives
2016 - IRG/WP 16-30696
Extractives of sawdust and bark from P. pinaster and, condensed tannins (CTs) from P. radiata bark were used to treat beech and pine veneers in combination with an oxidative enzyme, in order to stably graft such extractives onto the veneers. First, the antifungal activity of P. pinaster phenolic extractives against wood decay fungi was studied. These extractives were also used to hydrophobize pi...
D Filgueira, C Fernández-Costas, D E García, D Moldes


Assessing the natural durability for different tropical timber species using the mini-block test
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10886
The Xylarium in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA, Tervuren, Belgium) contains over 60,000 wood-samples, comprising over 12,000 species. These samples are of great historical and scientific value yet have a random format, which complicates standard testing. The wood-durability against Coniophora puteana and Trametes versicolor was tested for 36 species. Due to the random sample sizes the s...
V Deklerck, I De Windt, N Defoirdt, J Van den Bulcke, H Beeckman, E Espinoza, J Van Acker


Underground timber constructions from the First World War are well preserved after 100 years
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10897
During the Great War or World War I many underground constructions have been built for protection from shelling. They were an important part of the trench warfare as they were used as an area to rest and carry out other activities such as eating. They would usually range in size from smaller constructions that could hold several men to larger entities that could hold thousands of soldiers. In the ...
J Van Acker, I De Windt, K Haneca, H Beeckman, F Claeys, S Vandenbussche, J Vandewalle, N Robeyst, A Willems


Oak maturation casks at the Rodenbach brewery, an industrial heritage of the Flemish Community requiring protective measures
2017 - IRG/WP 17-10898
Brewery Rodenbach has world-renowned cask halls with close to 300 oak casks, some of these big maturation casks are 150 years old and this is protected as part of the industrial heritage of the Flemish Community. Since some of these maturation casks or “foeders” were the last decades no longer fully in use some parameters of their physical condition might have increased incidence of fungal dec...
J Van Acker, I De Windt, R Ghequire


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


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


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


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


Determining the natural durability on xylarium samples: mini-block test, wood powder and chemical profiling
2019 - IRG/WP 19-10944
Xylaria, or wood collections, can be considered sleeping beauties in terms of wood technological and biological output. In this study we focus on determining the natural durability of xylarium specimens from the Federal Xylarium in the Royal Museum for Central Africa. The Federal Xylarium contains over 80,000 specimens, covering more than 13,000 species, mainly from Central Africa. These specimens...
V Deklerck, L De Ligne, J Van den Bulcke, E Espinoza, H Beeckman, J Van Acker


Exploring the use of X-ray micro CT as a tool for the monitoring of moisture production and mass loss during lab-based fungal degradation testing
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20654
Bio-based building materials, such as wood and wood-engineered products, are susceptible to degradation by decay fungi. In-depth knowledge on the intricate material-fungus relationship as well as performance data for many bio-based building materials are still lacking, and especially knowledge on how a material’s structure and moisture properties affect the degradation process is missing. Althou...
L De Ligne, J Van den Bulcke, A De Muynck, J M Baetens, B De Baets, L Van Hoorebeke, J Van Acker


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


Potential of totora and derivatives as sustainable lignocellulosic material
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40859
Totora (Schoenoplectus californicus C.A. Mey. Soják) is a macrophyte from the Cyperaceae family that grows in the Americas from California to Chile. This plant has long been used by several cultures such as the Ohlone in California, the Moche in Peru, or the Incas in Los Andes. Some communities have maintained its traditional use until the present, such as the communities living nearby Lake San P...
J F Hidalgo-Cordero, D Casado, J García, L Robertson, M T Troya


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