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Marine exposure assessment in southern Portugal of the natural resistance of a number of lesser known species of tropical hardwoods to teredinid and limnoriid borers
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10614
Naturally durable species of timber are used as an alternative to preservative treated timber for marine structures, but many species have not been evaluated for their potential for use in this environment. EN 275 specifies a 5-year test period - too long a period for screening tests to be economically viable. In this study, candidate timber species were selected for testing in the sea on the basi...
J R Williams, S M Cragg, L M S Borges, J D Icely, G S Sawyer


Predicting the decay resistance of timber above-ground: 2. When can reliable field data be obtained?
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20368
Application of modern performance-based engineering and design requires building products that are thoroughly characterised in terms of their ability to perform as expected over time. The engineering community is attempting to use this information to provide predicted service-lives for various building elements. Increasingly, this service-life prediction must be based on objective measurement coup...
L P Francis, A J Swain, J J Morrell


Treatment of Selected Lesser Used Timber Species against Subterranean Termites using Heartwood Extracts from Teak (Tectona grandis) and Dahoma (Piptadeniastrum africanum)
2007 - IRG/WP 07-30434
Lesser used timber species represent a valuable material for all-purpose uses but the problem is that most of them are not durable. They have, for this reason, been treated with all manner of chemicals to enhance their natural durability, especially in the tropics. Often, most of these chemicals pose a threat to the environment. Currently, one probable measure of avoiding such a threat to the envi...
A Asamoah, C Antwi-Boasiako


Durability of timber from exotic species against termite attack in Indian conditions
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10629
Exotic trees species, Acacia mangium Willd. and A. auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth. and their hybrid are widely grown in India for multiple uses including use as timber. It is essential to know the natural durability of timbers against termites for predicting the service life of the timber and deciding on the application of preservatives to enhance the durability. Studies were conducted to test t...
O K Remadevi, R Muthukrishnan


Evaluating the Process of ACQ-Treated Woods with TGAand CEM Analysis
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20374
To provide an understanding of the fundamental thermal behaviour and the disposal-end products of ACQ-treated woods, this study is comprised of two categories of examination. The first is related to the use of TGA under different thermal decomposition conditions (nitrogen or air, and 5 or 40 oC/min), and the use of EDX to examine certain residual elements of the char. The second applies the CEM ...
Han Chien Lin, Tsang-Chyi Shiah, Jung Ting Tsai


Whole-of-house protection from subterranean termite attack and damage after four years of field exposure
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10665
This study reports the condition of the whole-of-house termite protection test in tropical Australia after four years. The study was designed to provide maximum protection to whole-of-house timbers in a natural situation posing the highest hazard from subterranean termite populations. The houses were constructed either on concrete slabs or suspended floors using untreated and treated timber fram...
B M Ahmed (Shiday), J R J French, S R Przewloka, P Vinden, J Hann, C Y Adam


Molecular Methods: a Reliable Tool for the Identification of Wood Decay Fungi in Construction Timber
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20386
In the present study, we tested the practical value of several DNA-based methods to identify at the species level the most common wood-decaying fungi infecting buildings. We successfully extracted and amplified fungal DNA from pure cultures of twelve species of wood-inhabiting fungi, from oak and pine wood infected in laboratory with known strains, and from unknown field samples of wood collected ...
M Maître, M Kutnik, I Le Bayon, L Harvengt


Treatment of Selected Lesser Used Timber Species against Subterranean Termites using Heartwood Extracts from Teak (Tectona grandis) and Dahoma (Piptadeniastrum africanum)
2008 - IRG/WP 08-30476
Lesser used timber species represent a valuable material for all-purpose uses. However, most of them are not durable. They are, for effective utilization, often treated with all manner of toxic synthetic substances to enhance their natural durability, especially in the tropics where conditions favour their deterioration. Most of these toxic synthetic substances often pose a threat to the environme...
A Asamoah, C Antwi-Boasiako, K Frimpong-Mensah


Categorization of 300 timber, bamboo and cane grown in Bangladesh based on their families, origins, growths, physical and mechanical properties
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10684
In this study the 300 timber, bamboo and cane plants grown in Bangladesh have been classified into various categories based on their taxonomic families, origin of species, rate of growth, color of wood, texture of wood, shrinkage of wood, equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, flammability of wood, cutting and sawing properties of timber, finishing and polishing qualities of wood, machining p...
A K Lahiry


European House Borer Hylotrupes bajulus Linnaeus in Western Australia: the anatomy of an eradication program
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20403
In January 2004, European house borer (EHB) Hylotrupes bajulus Linnaeus was detected in Perth, Western Australia. A containment program was set up and expanded to a full eradication campaign in 2008. The program is projected to eradicate EHB by 2021. This paper describes research work and assumptions on the biology and behaviour of EHB in Western Australia, surveillance and control methods, commun...
M Grimm, R J Cunningham, M Castalanelli, D Collins, L Vagg


The Promotion of Timber and Timber Product uses in China - Government's Role in Regulation and Standardization
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20424
Chinese Government always pays special attention to resource and environmental issues, therefore, resource saving and environmental protection are part of the basic state policies. This paper provides a brief summary of the key policies which guide the practices in promoting timber conservation and efficient utilization in order to meeting social demands of the wood uses. In the paper, the develop...
Liu Nengwen


Colour change monitoring of photodegradation in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) – a short term focus
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40442
Colour change monitoring of photodegradation is a quick and easy method for monitoring rates of photodegradation in timber. A study was undertaken to compare this technique to other monitoring methods, including microtensile strength changes and weight loss. Colour changes due to accelerated sunlight exposure were monitored using a Datacolor check spectrophotometer and compared with a set of contr...
V Sharratt, C A S Hill, D P R Kint


Life Cycle Assessment of treated timber: methodological aspects and first results
2009 - IRG/WP 09-50264
Environmental information on products is more and more required as a key to the market, and the building sector in Europe is certainly advanced in that direction. In France, Environmental Product Declarations are becoming very common for construction products. Therefore, the CTB P+ and CTB B+ certification comity as commissioned FCBA to perform the Life Cycle Analysis of treated timber in order to...
E Vial, M Bertrand, C Cornillier, G Deroubaix


Barefoot-heat-impact of oil-heat-treated wood: An important thermal property of decking boards
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40458
In this study the phenomenon of sensual heat impression was examined, when walking with bare feet on sun exposed wood based decking boards. A suitable method for measuring the heat flux from decking boards into an artificial foot was developed. The method and measuring device is described as well as results from measuring three different decking board materials: Oil-heat-treated spruce (OHT), untr...
A O Rapp, C R Welzbacher, C Brischke


Estimating the heat treatment intensity through various properties of thermally modified timber (TMT)
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40459
The suitability of different measures for prediction of the heat treatment intensity was investigated. Therefore, the resistance to impact milling (RIM), the lightness L*, the equilibrium moisture content (EMC), the anti swelling efficiency (ASE) and the total amount of soluble carbohydrates (TSC) of heat treated specimens were correlated with corresponding fungal resistance achieved by heat treat...
C R Welzbacher, C Brischke, A O Rapp


Hydrofluoroalkanes as carrier solvents for timber preservation
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40463
Hydrofluoroalkanes are a specific category of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) commonly used in refrigeration applications. Some HFCs hold potential for use as carrier fluids for preservatives used to protect timber above ground. They do not share the most significant disadvantages of currently used carriers for these applications. At ‘conventional’ operating pressures, they are capable of rapid, full ...
M J Kennedy, B Walker, C Erskine


Assessment of the marine borer resistance and abrasion resistance of lesser known hardwood timber species for use in marine construction
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10711
Naturally durable species of timber are used as an alternative to preservative treated timber for marine structures, but many species have not been evaluated for their potential for use in this environment. EN 275 specifies a 5-year test period - too long a period for screening tests to be economically viable. In this study, candidate timber species were selected for testing both in the laboratory...
J R Williams, G S Sawyer, G Malyon, S M Cragg, J D Icely, J Simm, M Meaden


Control of Reticulitermes grassei as a pest in Spain: Termite distribution in an urban area
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10719
The European subterranean termite Reticulitermes grassei Clément, 1978, has been an important pest in Palenciana, a locality in the southern province of Cordoba (Spain) for a long time. The different stages of the pest elimination process have been studied and are presented here. Firstly, a through inspection of all town dwellings was conducted in order to determine a theoretical affected area of...
E Alcaide, R Molero, J Diz, M Gaju


Estimating the age of subterranean termite attack and damage in buildings
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10727
This paper describes physical and experimental methods and a mathematical model (Rotramel 2003) to assist in estimating the age of subterranean termite attack and damage to building structures. Timber, building and termite management industries have to develop new strategies to assess and estimate termite attack and damage in the current climate of global warming. A case study will be used as an e...
J R J French, B M Ahmed Shiday, J Thorpe


Impact of climate change on wood deterioration - Challenges and solutions for cultural heritage
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20441
Deterioration of wood in cultural assets follows the same physiological mechanisms as in modern structures. Therefore rules and data for prediction of service life derived from old wooden structures can be used to model the service life of recent wooden structures and vice versa. The latter is done in this paper: From experimental test set ups in the field spread over Europe, climatic data, wood t...
C Brischke, A O Rapp, M Hasan, R Despot


Onset of mould growth – the effect of climate variability and different geographic locations
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20446
This paper presents a study on how climate conditions at numerous locations in Sweden affect the risk of onset of mould on wood sheltered outdoors. The results indicate that the risk is clearly higher in the south compared to the north of Sweden. These differences are mainly explained by colder and dryer winter periods in the north which is unfavorable for development of mould. The results also sh...
M Häglund, T Isaksson, S Thelandersson


DNA-based tools for rapidly detecting, quantifying and monitoring ophiostomatoid fungi on beetles, in trees and wood products
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20450
Approximately half of the trees harvested for commercial purposes are lost because of native or introduced insects or insect-vectored microorganisms. Ophiostomatoid fungi, which are well adapted to dissemination by insects, include ~140 species of saprobes and pathogens. They are present worldwide, have high economical impact and many are subject to quarantine regulation. Thus, it is necessary to ...
L Khadempour, Young Woon Lim, S Massoumi Alamouti, C Breuil


Non-destructive evaluation of termite and decay damaged to timber-in- service
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20451
A leading joint research project was financed by the ARC, engaging some of the leading Universities in Australia, to look at field techniques to determine if timber-in-service is infested with termites and decay fungi after which microwave technology will be employed to eliminate the termites and/or decay in-situ. The next step will be to quantify the damage caused on the sectional dimensions of t...
C Adam, B M Ahmed Shiday, G Brodie


Improved analysis of field test data related to service life prediction of tropical wood species
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20458
Long field trials of wood in ground contact give valuable data on the natural durability of the material. The European Standard EN 350 gives guidance on how to perform these durability classification, but is limited to the use of averages of in-service life of a set of specimens compared to a reference set. Starting from a database of visual assessment of field stake testing, it is possible to obt...
J Van den Bulcke, A Wong, Ling Wang Choon, Yoon Soo Kim, J Van Acker


Service life prediction for exterior timber cladding
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20460
This discussion paper considers service life prediction for timber and the work within the pan-European WoodExter project. The project aims to develop a model for service life prediction of exterior timber cladding, to enable better end use selection of material suitable for delivering the required service life of cladding and to provide information for professionals wanting to understand and use ...
E Suttie, F Englund


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