Your search resulted in 388 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Communities of mold fungi in moisture damaged building materials
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20542
The critical conditions needed for the development of mould and decay fungi have been modelled for different building materials. However, current knowledge of indoor microbes growing on building materials relies on culture-based methods and more advanced molecular biological techniques should be employed to study the complex microbial communities in building materials. In this paper molecular biol...
E Sohlberg, H Viitanen
A screening of factors that might influence the result of laboratory decay tests
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20548
Laboratory fungal decay tests provide important tools for performance testing of wood materials. But they are also hampered with some uncertainties regarding reproducibility. In addition to variation between fungal species and strains the test conditions are also believed to have some influence. The aim of this study was to screen the effect of a selection of test parameters that might influence t...
E Larnøy, G Alfredsen, A Treu, S Kolstad
Critical parameters on moisture dynamics in relation to time of wetness as factor in service life prediction
2014 - IRG/WP 14-20555
The concept of natural durability or enhanced durability based on the presence of active ingredients having an impact on both fungi and insects is not the only parameter steering the material resistance. Complementary resistance to getting wet (wetting ability) and consequently the ease of drying afterwards will lead to a parameter related to the time a piece of wood will remain under such wet con...
J Van Acker, I De Windt, W Li, J Van den Bulcke
Biological durability of natural fibre reinforced composites
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40681
Composite materials reinforced with wood or non-wood natural fibres have the potential to be a lighter and lower-cost alternative construction material. Until better availability and properties and a lower cost price of degradable polymers makes their use more prevalent, the application of natural fibre reinforcements in synthetic polymers is an intermediate step towards products that are complete...
N Defoirdt, I De Windt, J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker
Study on Biological Distribution to Conserve the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks in Haeinsa Temple
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10844
Tripitaka Koreana is the Wood-carved Buddhist scriptures which were made in 13th century. And Janggyeong Panjeon that is depository for the Tripitaka Koreana was built in 15th century. In recent days, biological damage becomes a serious problem to wooden cultural heritage including historical wooden buildings with global warming. In this study, termite monitoring on whole Haein-sa temple area and ...
Si Hyun Kim, Hyun Ju Lee, Yong Jae Chung
Remote sensing for detection of termite infestations—Proof of Concept
2015 - IRG/WP 15-10846
This paper reports the results of a search to discover the most cost effective and robust method of detecting Reticulitermes flavipes infestations in structural members of remote bridges, homes and other wooden structures and transmitting these results to internet cloud storage thus obviating routine travel to these structures for periodic visual inspections. Duplicate stainless steel tanks were c...
F Green III, R A Arango, C R Boardman, K J Bourne, J C Hermanson, R A Munson
The combined effect of wetting ability and durability on field performance – verification of a new prediction approach
2015 - IRG/WP 15-20565
Comprehensive approaches to predict performance of wood products are requested by international standards and the first attempts have been made in the frame of European research projects. However, there is still an immanent need for a methodology to implement the durability and moisture performance of wood in a performance classification system. The aim of this study was therefore to establish an ...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, P-O Flæte, M Humar, T Isaksson, L Meyer
High-frequency monitoring of mass loss due to brown rot degradation of modified wood
2016 - IRG/WP 16-10862
Fungi growing in liquid culture undergoes three separate phases in which they i) adapt to the new environment, ii) grow unrestrictedly and exponentially, and iii) are inhibited to increase in number/mass due to lack of nutrients etc. Filamentous fungi have been shown to exhibit similar growth phases in a solid food substrate and have been modelled to grow in this way also in solid wood. In modifie...
R Ringman, A Pilgård, K Richter
Fungal decay of archaeological waterlogged oak timber: role of the mineral content
2016 - IRG/WP 16-10873
In service, wood foundation poles are subjected to water level fluctuation in soil. While wood is saturated by water only bacterial decay occurs. When oxygen content increases and moisture content decreases, severe fungal attack may occur. To evaluate the long term fungal durability of wood foundation pole in the context of service, 300 years waterlogged archaeological wood poles were used. The oa...
A Besserer, M Letellier, E Fredon, Q Kleindienst, M-L Antoine, C Perrin, J Lallemand, C Rose, M-C Trouy
On the effect of climate and exposure conditions on durability indicators and their potential for service life prediction of wood-based products
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20576
In order to encourage increased use of wood, different user groups need to be better informed regarding the variation in performance between different wood materials and the effect of different use classes. It is also important to provide good empirical data on the service life of wood products as input to for example life cycle assessment studies. In the current study the effect of temperature an...
G Alfredsen, C Brischke, P-O Flæte, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup
Measurement of Cell Wall Moisture in Acetylated Radiata Pine Using Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20583
Understanding the interaction of water with acetylated wood is necessary to explain how the protective mechanism of acetylation functions. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance is one technique for assessing water in wood. Pinus radiata earlywood sapwood samples were acetylated to various weight percentage gains and then analysed with this method. Increased levels of acetylation showed significantl...
H G Beck, C A S Hill
Wood biodeterioration monitoring using molecular fluorescence
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20589
Wood is an extremely complex and heterogeneous biological material, susceptible to biodeterioration by wood-destroying organisms. This process can be evaluated by natural resistance tests or non-destructive techniques, such as molecular fluorescence. The fluorescence of wood can be attributed to the presence of fluorophores groups or extractives, as a characteristic of some species. This study aim...
E Meneses Oliveira, A Florian da Costa, J W Batista Brag
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 durability of manufactured structural building materials
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40718
The projected market potential for Engineered Wood Products such as CLT (cross laminated timber) is very positive however, potential prolonged rain leakage or moisture exposure during construction and in-service could pose considerable concern for its durability and reputation. This research was conducted to assess the decay resistance of CLT and OSB (oriented strand board) in an accelerated trial...
T Singh, D Page
Encapsulation of poles to prevent moisture uptake – a laboratory test
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40753
Premature failure of utility poles due to decay in soil contact is the main reason for early removal of utility poles, a measure that implies extra costs for utilities. Remedial treatments and barriers are common methods to prolong the service life of utility poles. The first part of this paper gives an overview of mode of action and commercial application of barrier systems as described in the li...
K-C Mahnert, U Hundhausen
Monitoring of wood biodeterioration by infrared spectroscopy
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20607
The susceptibility of wood to deterioration by rotting fungi is intrinsically related to its chemical composition and the environmental conditions at its place of use, and if not detected in time, can cause enormous financial losses. The process of wood biodeterioration by decay fungi can be evaluated through laboratory accelerated test, in specific field tests, or through non-destructive techniqu...
E Meneses Oliveira, A Florian da Costa, J W Batista Braga
Monitoring Diversity and Colonization Patterns of Wood-Inhabiting Fungi Using Field Stake Tests
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20614
Advances in molecular identification of microbial communities enabling rapid microorganism determination have allowed ecological data to be increasingly incorporated into standardized wood performance tests. Combining standard field tests with molecular methods to study wood-associated microflora can help to better understand fungal colonization and decay processes of wood in service. The potentia...
P Torres-Andrade, J Cappellazzi, J J Morrell
Influence of Weathering on Moisture Performance of Wood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20619
Water performance of wood is besides the inherent durability the most important factor that influences on the performance of wood in outdoor, above ground applications. Therefore it is of significant importance to optimize the methods that are able to predict the moisture behaviour of wood in outdoor applications. In order to elucidate this questions, samples were prepared of oak (Quercus), sweet ...
M Žlahtič-Zupanc, B Lesar, N Thaler, M Humar
The use of new, aqueous chemical wood modifications to improve the durability of wood-plastic composites
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40787
The wood flour used in wood-plastic composites (WPCs) can biologically deteriorate and thus the overall mechanical performance of WPCs decrease when exposed to moisture and fungal decay. Protecting the wood flour by chemical modification can improve the durability of the wood in a nontoxic way so it is not harmful to the environment. WPCs were made with modified wood flour and then evaluated for m...
R E Ibach, C M Clemons, G C Chen
Solid Timber Bridges – Latest Developments
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40788
The technology of gluing in wood construction has evolved considerably in recent years. This has been shown especially in timber bridges that Glulam is now the main building material. A further development is the so-called block gluing, which provides a good basis for supporting structures. Numerous bridges, especially in central Europe, appeal by unique design and monolithic and solid construction. These structures base on two main developments: block lamination of glulam and the composite of timber and concrete to one structural system.
F Miebach
Moisture behaviour and biological durability of high performance flax fibre reinforced composites
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40803
For natural fibre composites in structural and load bearing applications long reinforcing fibres are required. Therefore, much research is performed on flax fibre reinforced composites to optimize them for high performance use. In most cases such research focuses on the mechanical properties, yet the assessment of moisture behaviour, dimensional stability and biological durability is an important ...
N Defoirdt, J Van den Bulcke, F Bensadoun, J Ivens, I Verpoest, J Van Acker
Organosilicon-based impregnation hydrophobers for wood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40808
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-P Lecomte, J Van Acker, J Van den Bulcke, M Kutnik, M Montibus, S Salvati, S Derocker
Review on protection of timber bridges in Norway and other countries
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40809
Wood plays a major role in design and construction of modern bridges in Norway. Typical elements of those bridges are double impregnated glued laminated members, stress laminated timber decks, slotted-in steel plates, metal cladding of the surfaces of loadbearing members, and cross girders made of steel. Selected examples of timber bridges in Norway are presented. This review paper gives an overvi...
K-C Mahnert, U Hundhausen
Influence of sea water on timber and metal joints
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40818
In the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in March 2011, many buildings suffered from seawater immersion caused by the tsunami. Saito's study revealed that corrosion progresses on metal plate that experienced seawater immersion 1). However, the detailed mechanism of corrosion progresses has not yet been clarified. Therefore, in this study, salinity which is one of causes of corrosion w...
T Nishimura, H Ishiyama, F Hirose, N Wada
Natural resistance of Bambusa vulgaris to termite and powder-post beetle attack in laboratory and graveyard tests
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10925
Deterioration is the major setback to the utilisation of bamboo products. To enhance bamboo utilization, an understanding of the level of resistance to degradation is important. In this study, level at which Bambusa vulgaris will naturally resistant attack by subterranean termites and powder-post beetles were evaluated. B. vulgaris aged 2, 3 and 4 years were subjected to attack by subterranean ter...
N A Sadiku, S O Bada