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Subterranean termites of economic importance in suburban Melbourne: Wood structures most frequently attacked and damaged
1990 - IRG/WP 1430
An examination of wood structures in forty buildings actively being attacked by subterranean termites in Melbourne revealed that all buildings were being attacked and damaged by Coptotermes species. This indicates the economic importance of these species. Hardwoods were more frequently infested than softwood species. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to termite control, ...
J R J French


Quantification of creosote migration down wooden poles and the prevention of its depletion during flood irrigation
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50032
Polyethylene field liners heat-shrunk onto soil-contact surfaces prevented decay of creosote-treated Eucalyptus grandis vineyard poles under flood-irrigation. The present work quantified losses of creosote from these poles after six and 24 months' service. After six months' service the mean creosote retention of unlined poles above the ground line was 12.62% (m/m dry wood), with ...
M Behr, A A W Baecker


The present status of wooden catamarans of the Indian Coast
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10231
Catamarans (a.k.a. kattumarams) are the most widely used fishing craft in India, and hundreds of thousands of poor, traditional fishermen depend on these vessels for their livelihood that are almost made entirely of wood. In recent years, acute shortages and phenomenal increases in prices of timber species used in catamaran fabrication have been reported, causing great hardship to the user communi...
K S Rao


Impregnation of timber with tannin as a mean of improving its dimensional stability
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3695
The results of a joint project carried out at the Timber Division of LNEC under the 2nd research programme of the CEC DGXII - "Wood as a renewable raw material" entitled "Stabilization of wood by impregnation processes" is presented. Pieces Maritime pine timber was impregnated with tannin under pressure to see if the treatment with tannin improved the behavior of wood regarding its dimensional sta...
J S Machado


Supply of wooden transmission and telephone poles in Tanzania: Problems and possible solutions
1987 - IRG/WP 3424
The eucalypts which have been used widely for utility poles for more than 30 years have dwindled remarkably from traditional supply areas. Consequently, pole-using authorities are considering importing poles from abroad. This alternative is considered unrealistic and costly. The aims of this paper are: - to dispel fears of pole scarcity and to show that an abundant resource of a variety of tree sp...
K K Murira, S A Diwani


Borer fauna of Iran biodeterioration of wooden boats in Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10230
In Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean) there are thousands of wooden boats from the time of Acheamenian and Sassand dynasti when India was a part of the Persian Empire. Now after 2500 years again, the Indian timbers specially Tectona Grandis and other Indian timbers and also tropical woods of Zanzibar (Tanzania) are brought to the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean). Unfortunately ...
P Niloufari


Methods of testing anti-stain chemicals for protecting sawn timber during storage and transport
1976 - IRG/WP 273
No international standard method for testing anti-stain chemicals for protecting fresh sawn timber exists. The methods used can be divided into three types: a) Rapid screening tests for finding chemicals effective against blue-stain and mould fungi. The chemicals are tested in agar medium, in pieces of filter paper or on small pieces of wood using pure cultures. b) Laboratory tests for evaluating ...
T Vihavainen


A field evaluation of chromated fluoride as a remedial treatment for creosoted wooden distribution poles
1989 - IRG/WP 3556
A commercial chromated fluoride formulation was applied by injection process to previously inoculated creosoted wooden distribution pole sections at a field site in Scotland and appraisal of the efficacy of the formulation against Lentinus lepideus was undertaken at two month and fifteen month intervals. Preliminary results suggest a rapid elimination of organisms from colonised areas. The usage o...
B King, A Bruce


New method to find out the volatile organic compounds (VOC) of wooden material
2000 - IRG/WP 00-20189
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) of pine, spruce and larch wood were studied using a new technique developed at VTT Chemical Technology. 50 mg of crushed wood material was placed into glass tubes. The tubes were closed with a glass wool, which is pressed with a tube cap. Wood samples were analysed with a gas chromatograph after thermal desorption using four different temperatures (50°C, 100°C, 1...
H Viitanen, K Villberg, K Saarela


Social and economocal impact of an extension of service life resulting of an adequate preventive treatment. Application to wooden components used in urban areas with a high density of population
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-15
Le document évalue les problèmes rencontrés en zone urbaine pour le sauvetage des constructions: coordination de la lutte, délimination des chantieres et des périmètres d'investigation, nuisances causées par les interventions, risques pour la santé, risques pour l'environnement. Coûts. Comparaison socio-économique du traitement préventif et des interventions à posteri...
A T De Lelis, G A C Lopez


Surface and system treatments of wood for outdoor use
2006 - IRG/WP 06-30412
The project “Surface and system treatment of wood for outdoor use” was initiated the summer 2001. The project evaluates environmentally friendly preservatives and water borne coating systems, to find the best protection for timber indented for outdoor use. The wood species selected as test material were pine and spruce. The different treatments were exposed in several outdoor accelerated tests...
B Jacobsen, F G Evans


A roadmap for performance-based specification of wooden components based on service life prediction
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20351
The need for an unified and harmonised system for performance classification and specification of wood and wood-based products in Europe emanates from requirements of users and the European Construction Products Directive, CPD. A road to a feasible specification system is outlined. Exposure-related performance prediction was worked out as a key task on the way to product specification. Therefore s...
C Brischke, A O Rapp


Relationship between coating properties and their performance on treated wooden decks
2008 - IRG/WP 08-30454
Preservative treated wood benefits from the application of a surface coating to protect it from weathering (UV and rain). Different preservative formulations may affect surface properties of treated wood differently; therefore compatibility of coatings with different preservative treated wood types should be considered. This paper examines coatings characteristics and their weathering performance ...
M Ahmadinejad, P A Cooper


Field Liners as physical barriers to prevent wooden utility pole decay in soil: An accelerated field simulation trial
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20384
Field Liners (FL’s), plastic sleeves used to protect in-ground wooden poles from fungal and termite damage, have been tested before as physical barriers to prevent contact between soil and wood and to retain wood preservative treatment. These earlier studies concentrated mostly on creosote preserved poles and early generation FL’s which were cumbersome in their application. The newer generatio...
A R Howgrave-Graham, L J Cookson, T Hale


Primary Study on Compressed Preservative-treated Wood (CPW) for Outdoor Applications
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40412
In this study, the compressed wood samples pre-treated with hot water bath or water spraying were immersed in the ammoniacal copper quat –type D (ACQ-D) preservative solution to get compressed preservative-treated wood (CPW). The liquid absorption and the recovery rate of compression deformation of the compressed wood was determined, as well as the surface hardness, the distribution of density a...
Jinzhen Cao, Jia Mao


The amazing wooden churches from Northern Romania - learning from the past, restoring for the future, preserving the present valuable heritage of forgotten wood building tradition
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10683
The beauty and the uniqueness of the north-western region of Romania called “Maramureş” are well known in Europe. Surrounded by mountains, the region remained to some extend isolated from modern influences, preserving the local village architecture and craftsman traditions learnt and passed on from generation to generation. Local folklore and past heritage sets you back centuries ago when...
R Craciun, R Möller


Serpula lacrymans – calcium, iron, and foundering wooden boats
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10691
Serpula lacrymans is one of the most destructive wood-degrading brown rot fungi in temperate environments. Its virulence has often been linked to its ability to grow over non-woody materials and extract calcium (Ca) or iron (Fe) to promote wood degradation in buildings. This fungus has also been a severe problem in historic wooden warships and in modern wooden vessels, sometimes leading to founder...
J S Schilling, S M Duncan


The effect of different foundation systems against fungal flora in the crawl space of a new wooden Japanese house
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10700
In order to establish novel preventive measures against damage of wooden houses by decay fungi with less-use or no-use of chemicals, we periodically monitored the fungal flora in the crawl space of a new wooden Japanese house build with recyclable and low-environmental load materials at the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University. We employed either a layer of concrete or...
A Toyoumi, S Horisawa, T Yoshimura, S Doi,Y Imamura


Service Life Prediction of Wood Claddings by in-situ Measurement of Wood Moisture Content: Status after 5 years of Outdoor Exposure
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20401
The Danish Technological Institute is in co-operation with industry partners running a project aiming at predicting the service life of different wood protecting systems. The project focuses on examining the moisture reducing effect of different protecting systems for timber claddings and the ability of these to maintain the appearance of the surfaces, when the wood is used in service class 3 (EN ...
E Tang Engelund, B Lindegaard, N Morsing


Building with termites: The challenge of biomimetic design for carbon neutral buildings.
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20405
The main aim of this paper is to present humanity and termites as design partners in the creation of a new dimension of ecosystem understanding. “Beyond biomimicry: What termites can tell us about realizing the living building”, Turner and Soar (2008) opens up a new era in how we think of human habitations, not only on earth, but maybe on other planets, and using the termite model as the corne...
J R J French, B M Ahmed (Shiday)


Evaluation of exposure conditions for wooden facades and decking
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20408
During their functional life, building components are exposed to moisture and other environment stress conditions in numerous ways. This is a fact that should be taken into account during manufacture, product development, designing and work execution of building components. For wood material, moisture stress and biological factors like mould and decay fungi are often critical in cladding and decki...
H Viitanen, T Toratti, R Peuhkuri, T Ojanen, L Makkonen


Selection of an appropriate coating system for wooden boats to be used in fresh water
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40472
Properties of several, most commonly used protective low-price coatings, which are used by the pletnja boat owners in Bled, Slovenia, were extensively studied. The aim of this professional, practically oriented study was to compare various coating systems, and to recommend the most suitable one to the boat owners. Regarding specific use conditions, the following properties, including their resista...
M Petrič, B Kričej, A Logar, M Pavlič


A fast and economic method to produce grey wooden surfaces for decking and cladding: preliminary results
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40474
Uncoated wood is commonly used in France for cladding and decking to minimise maintenance. However wood surfaces progressively turn grey due to exposure to sunlight and water. This grey colour develops after several months depending on the wood species and the exposure: in the northern hemisphere surfaces facing south and west are most exposed and turn grey more rapidly than those facing north and...
L Podgorski, V Georges, I Garmendia, B Sánchez Sarachu


The Use of Micro-Tensile Testing to Assess Weathering Decay and Oxidative Degradation of Wooden Items
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20433
This paper presents a method to study the weathering performance of wooden items and to assess the oxidative degradation of wood via the Fenton reaction. Weathering resistance and photo-stability of wood was tested using pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) veneer strips measuring approximately 60 µm in thickness. The veneer strips were treated using a reactive chemical to impart surface protection. The ...
C Mai, Yanjun Xie, Zefang Xiao, P D Evans, H Militz


Stained wood: The identification of natural dyes and mordants in wooden works of art
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20434
On the basis of current knowledge only natural-colored wood species crafted to veneers were used for the decorative design of furniture and wooden interior in classical antiquity.First applications of artificially stained wood can be dated to the late Middle Ages. In the Renaissance wooden works of art were manufactured by using intarsia of natural-colored, fungus-stained and artificially stained ...
A Unger, W Unger


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