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An evaluation method for less termite attack execution on thermal insulation for fundation walls
2002 - IRG/WP 02-20245
According to the results by the real scale Japanese building tests, the termite installation was observed at very little spaces between foundation and insulation. The termite penetration spaces between foundation and insulation on foundation systems in Japanese wooden houses were checked by the way of streaming speed of colored water. Because of difficulty for its execution, the parts of outside a...
K Suzuki, Y Tanaka


Degradation of the normal fibre walls of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) by the tropical blue-stain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10286
Rubberwood was examined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after exposure to the common tropical sapstain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae for four weeks to study hyphal colonisation of wood cells and to determine if this fungus also degraded lignified normal fibre cell walls in addition to the walls of non-lignified elements. Light microscopy revealed relatively large ...
A A H Wong, A P Singh


UV-microspectrophotometry of lignin and accessory compounds in wood cell walls of conifers
1999 - IRG/WP 99-20171
The distribution of lignin in the cell wall of conifer tracheids was determined by UV-VIS microspectro-photometer. Wood sections of one micron thickness were measured between the wavelength 240 and 700 nm. Spectral analyses revealed that the conifer lignin associated with the tracheid secondary wall and middle lamella is composed of guiacylpropane units which exhibit a characteristic UV absorption...
G Kleist, G Koch, J Bauch


Formation of soft rot cavities in relation to concentric layers in wood fibre walls
1983 - IRG/WP 1185
A large number of timber species attacked by soft rot have been examined using light microscopy. The S2 layers in a large number of the timbers exhibited special structural features in the form of thin concentric layers. Several observations indicate that these layers may be characterised as "weak" zones by being more easily degradable than the surrounding wall layers. The chemical structure of th...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Deterioration of wood viewed from iron nail
1991 - IRG/WP 2368
Deterioration of nail was graded by a five - rank numerical - rating. The rating of nail moisture content and decay of wood were inspected in a mortal-wall of 34-year-old house. The wood was mostly in decay, when the rating of the nail was above about 4, and the moisture content was above about 20%. Nailed wood specimens kept in several humidity room of 20°C for 4 years showed that the rating of ...
H Imamura


Hyphal tunnelling of belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) wood cell walls
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10152
Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) is highly regarded among the naturally durable Malaysian hardwoods. Visual inspections at the groundline of belian transmission poles from Sarawak, Malaysia, showed only surface decay of wood after 20 years in service. The cause of decay in belian was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Light microscopy of transverse sections of surface tissue...
A P Singh, A H H Wong


Evidence for actinomycete degradation of wood cell walls
1990 - IRG/WP 1444
Several unique patterns of degradation occurring in wood cell walls have been observed in wooden stakes inserted in unsterile soil in the laboratory. Some of the patterns have also been observed in coniferous wood taken from forest floors. All the observed attack types occur within wood cell walls, mainly within the S2 layer. Attack is characterised by channels of varying diameter or small fusifor...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel, S L Bardage


A method test of chemicals for the treatment of walls infected with Serpula lacrymans
1992 - IRG/WP 92-2408
A method, which has been used in the UK for over 25 years, is described for assessing the effectiveness of products for application to walls during remedial treatment to eradicate the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans. Approvals for products previously used for this purpose in the UK are being changed. Approval for tri n-butyltin oxide has been withdrawn, and PCP derivatives can continue to be used...
J K Carey


A Novel Type of Multiple Cavity Attack in Wood Cell Walls of Heat-treated Timber Exposed in Seawater – Preliminary Observations
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10523
Samples of untreated and heat-treated Norway spruce and Douglas fir were submerged in Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth for 4 years at a depth of ca. 0.3 metres. The heat-treated samples had been prepared using the Plato process. Samples were initially assessed for the severity of marine borer damage and were then examined microscopically for evidence of microbial decay. Longitudinal and transverse wo...
R A Eaton, C Björdal, T Nilsson


Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Polyethylene Glycol Penetration into Wood Cell Walls
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20328
Penetration of high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) into wood cell walls was investigated in red pine. PEG of different molecular weights (1000, 8000 and 20000) was labelled by bromination and treated samples were analyzed on Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) in dynamic mode. Both negative and positive spectra of the samples were collected in high spatial (bunche...
D Jeremic, P Cooper, P Brodersen


Re-Distribution of Copper in the Cell Walls of Wood Treated with Micronized Copper Quat
2009 - IRG/WP 09-30506
Wood treated with copper-based preservatives to be used in ground contact may fail to inhibit soft rot fungi if penetration of copper into the cell wall is insufficient. Preservatives containing soluble copper are known to penetrate the cell wall; however, it is not known whether preservatives containing particulate copper will also migrate into the cell wall in sufficient quantities to control so...
R Stirling, J Drummond


Copper nanoparticles in southern pine wood treated with a micronised preservative: Can nanoparticles penetrate the cell walls of tracheids and ray parenchyma?
2010 - IRG/WP 10-30547
This study tests the hypothesis that copper nanoparticles can penetrate the cell walls of southern pine wood treated with a micronised preservative. We examined the nanodistribution of particles in tracheid and ray parenchyma cell walls using state-of-the-art HR (High Resolution)-TEM and HR-STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope)-EDX. These devices are capable of atomic-scale resolution. ...
H Matsunaga, Y Kataoka, M Kiguchi, P Evans


Accessibility of Wood Cell Walls to Well-defined Platinum Nanoparticles
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20494
Copper nanoparticles are found in the walls of parenchyma cells in southern pine sapwood treated with a micronised wood preservative, but they are absent from tracheid walls. Hence, we hypothesized that small nanoparticles can penetrate the walls of unlignified parenchyma cells, but are excluded from lignified tracheid walls. This paper tests this hypothesis by treating pine sapwood with an aqueou...
H Matsunaga, Y Kataoka, M Kiguchi, P D Evans


Visualization of Copper in the Voids and Cell Walls of Treated Wood using X-Ray Micro-Computed Tomography
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40640
This study extends our observations of the distribution of copper in treated wood. A small wood block was cut from a southern pine batten that had been treated with a particulate-copper preservative and similar sized block was cut from a batten that had been treated with a copper-amine preservative. Both blocks were imaged using X-ray micro-computed tomography. We obtained tomograms of each treate...
P D Evans, A Limaye, H Averdunk, M Turner, T J Senden


Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy as a tool for examining chemical changes in wood cell walls due to enzymatic activity
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20556
As development of techniques for examining enzymatic activity on solid, complex biological materials, is considered to be an important factor in further development of enzyme applications and for understanding the decay of plant materials, this study explores applicability of Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscope (STXM) for determining chemical changes in enzymatically treated samples at the cell...
D Jeremic, R Goacher, R Yan, C Karunakaran, E R Master


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


Thermal performance and fire safety properties of traditional circumferential log-cabin walls
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40872
The paper describes the experiment of fire resistance of a circumferential log-cabin wall fragment using various structural modification of the gap between two log members. The influence of the gap structural modification on the criterion of fire resistance E (envelop integrity) and I (insulation) is evaluated. The evaluating criteria are represented by the development of temperatures measured in ...
S Jochim, L Makovicka Osvaldova, M Zachar, Z Danihelova


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