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Premature adhesion failure of exterior wood coatings – The influence of substrate temperature at coating application and moisture accumulation during storage
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40937
The present study aimed at extending the knowledge about premature coating failures of industrially finished wood cladding. Two potential factors were studied: the influence of substrate temperature at coating application and moisture accumulation during storage on the adhesion of waterborne coating systems. In the first experiment, 4 batches of wood specimens were submitted to 4 different tempera...
U Hundhausen


Effect of densification of Eucalyptus nitens and E. obliqua on moisture uptake, swelling, decay resistance, and fire performance
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40946
Some Australian Eucalyptus species that are abundantly available have low natural durability and poor resistance to fire. These same species are also extremely difficult to treat with preservatives or fire retardants using conventional pressure treatment methods due to a large proportion of refractory heartwood. The aim of this research was to understand whether thermo-mechanical densification had...
B Hassan, J J Morrell, F Wiesner, W Wu, B Belleville, K C Wood


Moisture sorption behaviour of poplar and thermally modified poplar using dynamic vapour sorption (DVS)
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40947
The moisture sorption behaviour of wood has a critical impact on service life. In Europe, softwood is mostly used to manufacture engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) or glue-laminated timber (GLT or glulam). Yet fast-growing and widespread tree species such as hybrid poplar with or without modification, have potential to meet the increasing demand. This study shows the moi...
X Jiang, J Van den Bulcke, L De Boever, M Minsart, A Mignon, J Van Acker


Unlocking the potential of tropical fast-growing hardwood species
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11010
Social forestry or community managed forestry practices have been promoted as an inclusive way to mitigate climate change through the framework of the UNFCCC scheme of the Reduce Emission Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) programme. Fast growing wood species are one of the least tapped social forestry commodities in Southeast Asia, and they have the potential to be upscaled to meet the ...
S Fauziyyah, R Wimmer, C Brischke


Effect of Moisture Cycles and Timber Treatment on the Performance of Screwed Connections
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20694
The impact of moisture in timber structures is associated with the deterioration of timber, and loss of mechanical performance. Methods have been developed to treat timber using chemicals to inhibit deterioration, however, water intrusion has much more immediate effects on the mechanical properties of timber associated with swelling and shrinkage of the wood. The effects of moisture on the mechani...
L Yermán, M Xiao, Z Yan, L-M Ottenhaus


Moisture performance of wooden shingles tested on the Golobar cable yarding
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20704
Wood is a traditional roofing material in Europe and other parts of the world. In the 17th century, wooden roofing was generally used on more important buildings, but today it is mainly used on huts and houses in the Alpine regions. As wooden roofing is expensive, we investigated the possibility of extending the service life of the roofing through material selection and details. The roof of the Go...
M Humar, B Lesar, D Kržišnik


Impacts of elevated moisture levels and subsequent drying on screwed
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40970
Mass timber (glue-laminated timber, cross laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber) are increasingly used in mid-to high rise structures in Australia where the climate is mainly sub-tropical with elevated moisture levels and high termite risk. Moisture intrusion poses a major challenge anywhere but becomes more critical under these conditions. Untreated/non-durable materials are consider...
C M T Roder, C D Gerber, J J Morrell


Failure characteristics of thermally modified poplar wood subjected to mechanical tests
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40983
Poplar (Populus spp.) are among the fastest growing timber species and have been widely planted for use in plywood, composites, pallets, furniture components and paper production. However, the low density of the wood limits many structural applications and the wood has little resistance to biodegradation. Thermal modification represents one approach to improving durability by changing the moistur...
E Bari, M Ghorbanian Far, N Moradi, J J Morrell, G Daniel, B Mohebby, R Hosseinpourpia, M Humar


Utilising novel service life prediction methods for robust and precise Life-Cycle-Costing (LCC)
2023 - IRG/WP 23-50384
Life-Cycle-Costing (LCC) is one of the basic indicators for the assessment of sustainability and cost effectiveness in construction applications. Project WoodLCC was thus conceived to enable LCC through input from models for detailed service life planning of wooden components and buildings. The project is a continuation of the service life planning research conducted in Europe over the last three ...
P B van Niekerk, G Alfredsen, T Kalamees, R Modaresi, A Sandak, J Niklewski, C Brischke


Intra-species variability of moisture dynamics in wood
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11040
Moisture dynamics of wood and wood-based materials play a major role in wood durability against different decay organisms. Their impact becomes particularly evident when wood is exposed, but not permanently wet. To date, however, this has only been taken into account indirectly and therefore inadequately when testing the durability of wood. While test methods are available, for example to determin...
C Brischke, H Purps, L Emmerich


Wood above ground project – Results and future plans
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11041
In 2000, the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) initiated an extensive study to investigate the natural durability of wood. The study involved exposing wood in various orientations to assess its performance. A total of 35 wood material types were exposed at DTI test site in Taastrup, Denmark. Moisture content (MC) was measured through weighing for the initial five years, decay was assessed follo...
A W Christof, R Digaitis, P Fynholm, J Stenbaek, N Morsing, B Lindegaard


Investigating moisture dynamics and fungal decay risk: integrating X-ray CT visualization and simulation benchmarks through a Fungal Control Unit
2024 - IRG/WP 24-11045
Wood is susceptible to fungal attack and over time the structural integrity can be compromised. This risk is of course strongly related to moisture dynamics, as moisture is needed for fungal growth. While existing methodologies, such as lab and field tests, provide valuable insights into wood decay, they often fall short in replicating real-life conditions, particularly within the intricacies of t...
J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker, M Delbeke, A Blommaert, N Van Den Bossche, M Steeman, L De Ligne


Modelling the service life of wood in ground contact – Verification of remotely sensed soil data from the reanalysis dataset ERA5-Land using in-situ measurements at a test site of utility poles in Eastern Norway
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41003
This study compared soil moisture and temperature estimates from the 5th European reanalysis (ERA5-Land) dataset with in-situ measurements to assess the accuracy and applicability of ERA5-Land data for modelling the service life of wood in ground contact. The ERA5-Land soil temperature estimates showed a moderate correlation with the in-situ temperature measurements (Spearman’s ρ of 0.73) and a...
U Hundhausen, P B van Niekerk, B Marais


Modelling wood moisture content in outdoor conditions from measured data
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41005
Sustainable use of wood requires an understanding of expected service life, particularly when the material is exposed to outdoor conditions and, thus, fungal decay. Since moisture is the primary vector for fungal decay, accurate moisture prediction is a key component in service life assessment. For this purpose, the present study leverages existing measured data for linear regression of in-field m...
J Niklewski, P B van Niekerk, L Meyer-Veltrup, J Sandak, C Brischke


Analysis and performance of spruce alternative species and discarded wood for windows production
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50386
Climate change is having a significant impact on European forestry, particularly on the softwood species used for window frames. This study investigates potential replacement tree species for spruce (Picea abies), the predominant material for window frames. We evaluate Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), thermally modified poplar (Populus nigra) and discarded silver...
B Lesar, J Levanič, M Humar, A Treu


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