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Long-term Performance of Treated Timbers in a Sub-tropical Marine Exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11015
The long-term performance of preservative-treated and modified wood in marine exposures was assessed in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. This report describes the final destructive assessment of the surviving Australian panels after 11 years of exposure. This site presents the potential for attack by shipworms (likely Bankia spp.), pholads (Martesia striata), Limnoria and Sphaeroma terebrans. Mos...
E L Galore, J Norton, A Zahora


Assessing changes in hardness of furfurylated wood on a nano-scale to mimic levels experienced by the marine wood-boring crustacean, Limnoria
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11016
Wood-boring crustaceans and bivalves can cause severe damage to wooden structures in the marine environment, warranting the need for novel protection systems, such as chemical modifications. Furfurylation increases mechanical properties and resistance of timber species that would usually be susceptible to biodegradation by these borers, such as pine. In rapid laboratory and field testing, furfuryl...
L Martin, J Zekonyte, S Lande, M Westin, S Cragg


Reducing successful settlement by shipworm larvae on wood that has been modified using furfurylation
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11017
Shipworms are Teredinid bivalves that have a highly modified shell for boring into wood and an elongated, vermiform shape. Teredinids are marine wood-borers, utilising timber as both shelter and as a source of food. Wooden structures in the sea, such as piers and sea defences, are subject to severe damage by these borers, costing billions per year for maintenance and replacement. Traditionally, br...
L Martin, I Guarneri, S Lande, M Westin, S Cragg


Morphological observation of wood at the early stages of decay in brown rot and white rot
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11020
Wood rotting fungi, the fungal species causing biodeterioration for wood building, are generally classified into white-rot, brown-rot and soft-rot fungi based on their decay modes. Since white-rot and brown-rot fungi are known to reduce wood strength significantly, it is important to clarify the mechanisms of their wood degradation. White-rot fungi reduce wood strength as the decay progress and de...
R Tsukida, T Hatano, Y Kojima, Y Horikawa, S Nakaba, R Funada, M Yoshida


Effect of volatile organic compounds produced by wood rotting fungi on mycelial growth
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11023
Microorganisms such as fungi or bacteria produce volatile organic compounds (so-called MVOCs: Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds) as metabolites. Some MVOCs have been found to be biologically active, for example inhibition of spore germination, and when fungi of different species encounter each other, the MVOCs pattern change, suggesting that MVOCs play a role as a mediator for biological intera...
S Horikawa, R Konuma, M Yoshida


Comparison of culturable fungi found on two types of modified wood cladding
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11025
Modified woods are rapidly gaining popularity in the United States and are appearing on more public buildings. Because these are biocide-free products, they can support the growth of non-wood degrading fungi on their surfaces, many of which produce dark pigments and deface the cladding. Even growth of dark pigmented fungi on modified woods yields an even grey-black color, giving the materials a we...
G Presley, J Cappellazzi, B Held, R Blanchette


Glued laminated poles - Progress report after 43 years of testing
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20692
In 1979, a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse in Uppsala, in the Simlångsdalen test field in south-western Sweden and in a power lane in Vuollerim in northern Sweden, in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The test poles were treated in a two-step process. All laminations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were first...
J Jermer, M Westin, N Terziev


Optimisation of accelerated weathering procedure as an alternative to natural weathering
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20693
Comprehensive tests need to be performed to obtain the most accurate data possible on the durability of wood. The most reliable performance tests are field tests. However, since this is very time-consuming, we frequently rely on laboratory tests. To increase the reliability of the laboratory tests, samples are preconditioned with natural or artificially accelerated weathering methods that simulate...
E Keržič, M Humar, V Vek


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 1: 15 years’ experience with the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20695
A ‘jack of all trades’ method for above-ground wood durability testing has been sought for decades, but until now no method has found its way into standardization. The method of choice shall be applicable for untreated and treated wood – ideally also for wood composites. It shall be reproducible, objective, fast, easy, and inexpensive. Finally, it shall provide high predictive power. This s...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 2: The full guideline of the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20696
To determine the biological durability of wood above ground, numerous approaches for test methods have been pursued and tried out in the field in the past. So far, no method has managed to find its way into a European standard. During the last 15 years, experience with the Bundle method has been gained. As described in Part 1 of this paper, the method is recommended as a suitable tool for determin...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Laboratory durability testing of preservative treated wood products – first attempts and observations
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20697
In the past, durability classes (DC) had been assigned to wood species, sometimes also to homogenously modified wood-based materials such as thermally modified wood. More recently, some standards allow for classifying the biological durability of chemically modified wood, preservative treated wood and wood composites. Even treated products may be subject to durability classification, but necessary...
C Brischke, M Sievert, M Schilling, S Bollmus


Accelerated surface mould testing for exterior wood treatment in Temperate, Tropical and Laboratory environments
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20699
Mould attack is a very common cause of discoloration on wooden surfaces and can subsequently promote development of wood decay by other organisms. Prevention of mould growth is relevant for both pigmented wood paints as well as more transparent systems with a high or low amount of binder. The use of commercial biocides has led to effective microbiological inhibition in many contexts, but the incre...
A Nazeri, J Stenbaek, T R Laursen, A H H Wong, B M Hasnul


Simulations of microclimates for wood-decaying fungi in the built environment using environmental analysis
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20703
Simulations of fungal decay risk were run on two similar building geometries exposed to typical annual climate conditions of two different geographical locations, Brunswick (Germany) and Cairns (Australia). The simulations were conducted to capture the effect of wind-driven rain and solar irradiation exposure over nodes of the common building geometry. The moisture content and temperature variatio...
P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, S H Hosseini, B N Marais, I Frimannslund, T Kringlebotn Thiis, C Brischke


Performance of a noise barrier with different wood materials – results from a service trial after 25 years of exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30776
In connection with the construction of the railway connection between Stockholm Arlanda airport and Stockholm city, an 11 km long noise barrier made of untreated European larch was built along the railway line. This provided an opportunity to implement a full-scale study comparing different untreated wood species and preservative treatments. Thus, in March 1996 ten test sections including untreate...
J Jermer, M Westin


Improvement of durability of Scots pine against termites by impregnation with citric acid and glycerol followed by in situ polyesterification
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30777
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood samples were impregnated with solution containing citric acid (CA) and glycerol (Gly) followed by heating 140 °C according to already described procedure (L'hostis et al. 2018). The resulting modified woods were then used to evaluate the effect of chemical modification on the durability against termites. Two kinds of experiments were conducted for this purpos...
M Mubarok, J Damay, E Masson, E Fredon, Y S Hadi, I W Darmawan, P Gerardin


Establishing the minimum effective penetration of wood preservatives in the refractory heartwood of E. nitens
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30780
Conventional pressure treatment of many Australian hardwoods results in little to no penetration of heartwood and a non-uniform envelope treatment of <5 mm surrounding a mostly untreated core. This is a major issue for many of the low durability plantation hardwood timbers that are grown in Tasmania, which contain high percentages of heartwood. Long term studies on softwoods such as spruce decking...
J R Vargas, J J Morrell, L Yermán, K C Wood


Field performance of MCA-treated wood in ground contact
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30782
Micronized Copper Azole (MCA) was evaluated for its ability to resist biodegradation at two Canadian test sites using Pacific silver fir and white spruce stakes, and lodgepole pine and red pine roundwood posts. After 12 years of exposure the treated stakes exhibited low to moderate levels of decay while the untreated controls had failed. When stakes were moved to an active termite site, the untrea...
C Wilson, J Zhang, R Stirling


Recent studies into improved fire retardancy of wood undertaken at Luleå University of Technology
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30784
Modern construction is moving more towards engineered wood products, such as glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT). This increase is driven by the aspiration to deliver high-rise buildings with enhanced environmental profiles and human well-being. This desire to use wood in construction is pushing the need for fire treatments capable of meeting a products service life. However, the use of wood ...
D Jones, C-F Lin, I Kim, E Garskaite, O Karlsson, D Sandberg


Influence of weathering of wood surfaces before and after treatment with iron(II) sulphate
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30786
Outdoor wood is exposed to various factors that cause the wood to grey or age. The ageing processes can vary greatly depending on the exposure. Parts of the wood that are not exposed to external factors, e.g. under the eaves, are less exposed and the ageing process is therefore slower. This can be accelerated by solutions based on iron ions. In this way, the wood greys quickly and evenly. However,...
B Lesar, M Humar, F Osvald


Emerging wood nanotechnologies towards sustainable application and preservation
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40959
Wood is one of the most abundant biomaterials on earth and has been used for construction historically. Although existing wood composites are commercially successful, materials development has not targeted nano-structural control of the wood cell wall, which could extend the property range. The high porosity and permeability of wood scaffold provide excellent opportunities for material infiltratio...
Q Fu, T Singh, D Elustondo, M Sorieul


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


The influence of chemical and thermal modification on homogeneity between sapwood, heartwood, and transition wood of short rotation teak
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40961
Short rotation teak wood has low quality especially in durability. Heartwood presents sufficient natural durability and poor impregnability; meanwhile, most sapwood requires special treatment to increase its durability. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of thermal or chemical treatment on homogenization between sapwood, heartwood, and transition wood for some selected proper...
R Martha, B George, W Darmawan, P Gerardin


Field test methods as long-term aging – report of selective wood properties
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40962
Wood samples from a long-term field test are a valuable compendium of information about the material in the context of its aging processes. In the current work, wood samples from the round-robin test within the ECOMOD project were used as a material for the natural aging process (III and IV class of utility). The research scope was to determine selected properties of this wood which can be partial...
W Perdoch, M Benc, B Mazela, A Szulc, J Cegiela


Evaluation of the efficacy of silver nanoparticles and chitosan oligomer composites as poplar wood protective treatments against termites
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40963
Populus × euramericana ‘I-214’ (poplar) is a fast-growing species widely distributed throughout the world, and in the Castile-Leon region of Spain it accounts for more than 50% of all plantations. Its wood is becoming increasingly appreciated, yet its low durability against xylophagous agents —termites being one of the most aggressive and destructive in warm climates— continues to be a li...
E Spavento, M T Troya, M Casado-Sanz, J Martín-Gil, P Matín-Ramos, L Robertson, L Acuña-Rello


Adhesion and performance of exterior wood coatings on chemically and thermally modified wood – Results from 5.5 years outdoor exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40964
Non-durable softwood and hardwood species were treated with the water-soluble cyclic N-methylol compounds 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and methylated DMDHEU. One half of the modified specimens were coated with a waterborne acrylic coating system prior a natural weathering for 5.5 years according to EN 927-3 (2020). By frequent evaluations, the impact of chemical modifications ...
L Emmerich, H Militz


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