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Durability testing of mass timber building elements: a call for a collaborative trial
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40875
Mass timber buildings have captured the imagination of architects and engineers seeking more environmentally friendly building materials. The mass timber movement has tremendous potential to markedly increase timber use in mid-rise to high rise buildings. With great promise, however, comes great risk. Most mass timber structures that have been built or are being planned use no protective treatm...
J J Morrell


Fungal damages in Norwegian massive timber elements – causes and measures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40879
Massive wood elements are relatively new in Norway but the use is growing quickly, primarily the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT). Moisture performance of massive timber elements has been examined by some researchers, but more knowledge is needed. There is uncertainty regarding the need for vapour barriers or retarders in roof assemblies, and for practical reasons buildings are rarely assembled...
M S Austigard, J Mattsson


Experimental study on compressive strength performance of cross laminated timber with biodeterioration damage
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40883
The mass timber construction has attracted attention around the world. The reasons are due to the environmental impacts and the potential of the strength performance and quantity of the wood. Nowadays, CLT is one of the most important materials for the timber constructions. If we use CLT as a building material, we should consider the biodegradation risk for long time use. From an estimation of fut...
T Mori, Y Otsubo, R Inoue, M Ikeda, K Kambara, W Ohmura


Novel approaches for improvement of dimensional, photo- and thermal stability of wood through liquefied wood polyols impregnation
2019 - IRG/WP 19-40884
The major problems encountered in both indoor and outdoor utilization of wood are due photo instability and dimensional instability. The modification of Melia dubia wood for ultraviolet resistance and dimensional stability with liquefied wood has been carried out through impregnation method under solvent free conditions. The level of impregnation in modified wood was estimated by weight perc...
A Kumar, A John, T S Mehra


Outbreak of timber pest in Philippines: A consequence of frequent typhoons
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50348
Evidence of climate change and its impact are now visible in many parts of the world. This report presents impact of natural disasters in particular typhoons on trees as it passes across the Philippines archipelago every year. Typhoons damage and destroy large number of trees which soon rot under moist and warm conditions. Wood beetles and termites find these sources very quickly, breaking down th...
P Dhang


Study on Nailed Joint with Iron Contamination. Part1: Shear Performance of Nailed Joint with Iron Contamination
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50349
In Japan, The building standard law was amended in 2000.1) The use of metal joint was obligated by this law. Since then, metal joints have been largely used for wooden buildings. Also, Act on the Promotion of Popularization of Long-life Quality Housing was enacted in 2009 and leaving Long-life Quality Housing has been focused on2). However, leaving houses to posterity for a long time causes severa...
R Nakano, D Nakano, H Ishiyama


Moisture and temperature conditions in an old, highly moisture-loaded timber building in the Røros municipality, Norway
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10966
A 150 years old log building near Røros, Norway, has been in active use as a cowshed since its erection. The animals are kept inside the cowshed all winter and this causes a situation of a high moisture load on the wooden floor, wooden walls and ceiling. Logging of temperature and humidity over one year shows that there are favourable levels of moisture in the wood and air for development of moul...
M Sand Austigard, J Mattsson


Observed and projected changes in the climate based decay hazard of timber in the United Kingdom
2020 - IRG/WP 20-20665
The risk of microbiological attack on wood is determined by both material and climatic factors and indeed the hazard for a component is based on its intrinsic durability and the conditions in which it is used. The use of wood and organic materials in construction is increasing but ultimately all these materials will be susceptible to microbiological attack. The Scheffer Climate index applies clima...
S F Curling, G A Ormondroyd


Studying amount, location and state of water in modified wood at moisture levels relevant for fungal degradation
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40889
Water is an essential parameter for fungal degradation of wood, but degradation primarily occurs at high moisture levels at water potential in the range of -4 to -0.1 MPa, which corresponds to 97-99.9% relative humidity. At these moisture levels, water is present in the wood structure both in and outside of cell walls. The majority of previous studies on the interaction between wood and water for ...
M Fredriksson, E Engelund Thybring, Ramunas Digaitis


Elucidation of reactive sites of wood modified with acetic anhydride: Insights from density functional theory calculations
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40892
Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to investigate the interaction of cellulose and lignin with acetic anhydride for explaining the wood modification process. Atoms in molecules (AIM) and reduced density gradient (RDG) along with non-covalent interaction (NCI) plots were used to analyse the intermolecular bonding characteristics. Cellulose was modelled with a cellobiose unit (dimer of glu...
V Ponnuchamy, A Sandak, J Sandak, R Herrera Diaz


Comprehensive protection of timber in seawater
2020 - IRG/WP 20-10970
The hazard of wood in seawater can be divided into two areas: Below the water level, shipworm (Teredo navalis) and gribble (Limnoria lignorum) can attack non-resistant or insufficiently protected wood; above the water level, there is a risk by wood-destroying fungi and, to a lesser extent, insects. In a national project funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU, German Federal Environmenta...
E Melcher, J Müller, T Huckfeldt


Modelling decay rates of timber exposed above ground on four different continents
2020 - IRG/WP 20-20670
Durability performance data from an international decking trial were analysed to explore relationships with climate variables, particularly those related to temperature and rainfall. Matched decking samples of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) sapwood and heartwood, spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) were exposed to the weather above...
L P Francis, J J Morrell, C Brischke, P B Van Niekerk, J Norton


Performance of resin-treated solid wood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) under marine conditions
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10973
Wood is a traditional building material in the marine environment, where it is exposed to extremely harsh conditions. Most of the indigenous softwood and hardwood species in Europe are not durable against attack by marine organisms. Recently, wood modification has been considered as an alternative to protect non-durable wood species under use class (UC) 5 (EN 335, 2013) conditions. The present stu...
L Emmerich, C Brischke, S Bicke, H Militz


Assessing the risk of marine borer attack of the timber trestles and decay of timber above the intertidal zone of the Barmouth Viaduct
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10974
The Barmouth Viaduct is a Grade II* listed structure which carries the single track of the Dovey Junction to Pwllheli line and footway over the Mawddach estuary. It is in a marine environment where timber below the high tide mark is at most risk in Use Class 5 and all timber above in Use Class 3.2, permanently exposed to the risk of wetting. The structure consists of a timber trestle viaduct of ...
J R Williams


Validating a short-term laboratory method to assess the resistance of timber to biodegradation by marine wood-borers
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10975
Novel approaches to protecting wood in coastal and marine environments are needed as the use of traditional broad-spectrum biocides are now restricted. Wood is widely utilised in marine environments where it can be rapidly degraded by wood-boring organisms, causing billions of dollars of damage per annum. Biocidal compounds such as CCA and creosote have been popular treatments for timber products ...
L S Martin, J R Shipway, G P Malyon, S M Cragg


Experience Experience from over 20 years of field trials of resin treated wood – Marine borer resistance of MMF and DMDHEU modified wood
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10976
In 1999 a field test of Scots pine treated with MMF (Methylated Melamine Formaldehyde) resin and acetylated Scots pine post treated with MMF resin was started. Six years later a commissioned full NWPC test for BASF of Belmadur® (DMDHEU resin treated wood) was started at the same site. The testing, according to European Standard EN 275, was done in a bay by Kristineberg Marine Research Station o...
M Westin, P Larsson Brelid, A O Rapp, J Habicht


Estimation of residual compressive strength on cross laminated timber with biodeterioration damage
2021 - IRG/WP 21-40918
CLT is susceptible to biodeterioration such as fungal decay and termite attack during long-term use for buildings. It is necessary to know the residual strength performance of biodegraded CLT for estimating future performance and aging of CLT. In this study, compression tests of CLT damaged by brown rot fungi and termites were conducted to clarify the relationship between residual strength and mas...
R Inoue, T Mori, K Kambara, W Ohmura


Preliminary investigation for preservation method of CLT using non-pressure treatment
2021 - IRG/WP 21-40919
Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) is increasingly being used in residential and non-residential construction around the world, and some of these areas are at high risk of biodeterioration. Addition to moisture management of construction, preservative treatment of CLT may be needed to prevent decay and termite attack in the area. Pressure treatment being most reliable, is not feasible due to the large d...
T Miyauchi, Y Ohashi, J Miyazaki, R Takanashi, H Shibui, S Isaji, T Shigeyama, Y Sugai, A Yamamoto, T Hramiishi, T Mori, H Matsunaga


Carbon footprint of a cross laminated timber building – Torvbraten school case study
2021 - IRG/WP 21-50366
Torvbråten school is a public school in Asker, Norway, that has reached many sustainability goals. The school was the second in Norway to have Nordic Swan Ecolabel and has a 60 % reduction in carbon footprint compared to the reference benchmark. The building is made of cross laminated timber (CLT) and extensive wood use in general. From a wood protection viewpoint, will this sustainability sustai...
L G F Tellnes, J K Naess, M R Hanssen, P-O Flate


Application of an Ultrasound-based Instrument to Evaluate Condition of Drywood Termite Infested Timber Components
2022 - IRG/WP 22-11000
The characteristics of ultrasound waves propagation from non-destructive ultrasound-based instrument on drywood termite infested wooden components were investigated. Features of wave propagation such as time-of-flight, velocity, and peak energy on three orthogonal wooden plane (longitudinal, radial, and transversal) were studied. The wooden components used on this study came from a traditional woo...
S Fauziyyah, L Karlinasari, D Nandika, R Wimmer


Using satellite-retrieved soil moisture data to model the decay risk of in-ground timber
2022 - IRG/WP 22-20689
Satellite-derived soil moisture data from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) was extracted for a 9 x 9 km point grid over Europe. The data was then used as input to a dose-response wood decay model based on terrestrial microcosm (TMC) tests. The resulting hazard map plotted dose as an indicator of in-ground wood decay based on differences in annual temperature and soil moisture characteristic...
P B van Niekerk, M Schönauer, B N Marais, C Brischke


An Update on the Status of Industrial Heavy-Duty Preservatives in Europe
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30762
Creosote has been used for over 150 years for preservation of heavy duty industrial timbers such as railway sleepers, utility poles, and agricultural posts. The regulatory regimes in place today across Europe (eg EU & GB Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)) require a detailed assessment of the environmental and human health properties of wood preservatives at both the active substance and product l...
S Uphill, H Griffiths, M Giannuzzi, A Hughes


Service trial of different materials exposed in jetties at Öresund. Progress report No. 5
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30764
This report contains results of the fifth inspection on the performance of different decking materials – preservative-treated wood, modified wood, natural durable wood, re-cycled plastics and wood-plastic composites (WPCs) - available on the market and exposed since 2013 (some since 2014 and 2016) by the City of Malmö in two jetties near the Øresund Bridge, south of central Malmö in Sweden. T...
J Jermer


Post-layup protection of mass timber elements in above ground protected exposures: 2-year results
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30766
Mass timber has seen increased use as a building material for low and mid-rise construction in recent decades. The durability of mass timber elements has not been fully examined and the effects of wood destroying organisms on this these materials merits attention. The effectiveness of currently labeled soil termiticides and passively applied biocides at post-construction or as remedial agents need...
M E Mankowski, T G Shelton, G T Kirker, J J Morrell


Durability against fungal decay of sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood
2022 - IRG/WP 22-40928
Most European-grown wood species are susceptible to biological degradation, specifically, they suffer from a poor resistance against wood-destroying fungi. Therefore, prior to outdoor exposure, wood has to be treated either by applying a protective coating on its surface or by full-volume impregnation with antifungal chemicals. However, due to environmental and health concerns, the most frequently...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


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