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Evaluation of a utility pole inspection procedure
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20084
Methods were developed and are currently being utilized to appraise residual strength of utility poles based on visual assessment of increment cores. Strength tests, mycological descriptions and anatomical analyses were performed on eight utility poles taken out of service and one new (never in service) pole. Samples were obtained from increment cores removed from 6 levels in the pole: 2 feet, gro...
S E Anagnost, C J K Wang


Leaching of preservative components from pine decking treated with CCA and copper azole, and interactions of leachates with soils
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50171
Radiata pine decking was treated with CCA and copper azole preservatives to Australian H3 retention using conventional and modified Bethel schedules, and air-dried. Treated decking boards and durable hardwood controls were subjected to leaching in weather-exposed decks, and matching 19mm cubes were leached in extended AWPA E11-97 lab tests. Deck runoff and E11 leachate water was analysed after rai...
M J Kennedy, P A Collins


Evaluation of teak sawdayst Tectona grandis L Fil as a potential source to obtain a natural wood preservative in Colombia
2004 - IRG/WP 04-30356
Plantation Teak (Tectona grandis L. Fil) has been tested as a possible source of natural wood preservatives due to the known excellent durability of old-growth teak wood. Field tests (ground proximity termite and above ground simulated decking exposures) were established in Colombia in April 2003 at two different test sites with different climates (Tropical Dry and Rain forest). Teak heartwood ex...
A Castillo, Y Cabrera, A F Preston, R Morris


Microscopic analysis of southern pine utility pole core segments
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1542
Fifteen macroscopic core descriptive categories were evaluated by microscopic analysis for accuracy in detecting decay and judging decay severity. Five categories were good indicators of decay as decay was detected in 28 of 48 samples. Five categories were possible indicators of early decay as decay was detected in 6 of 40 core segments and an additional 18 contained hyphae. The remaining five cat...
S E Anagnost, C J K Wang, M Wright


Environmental consequences of various materials in utility poles - A life cycle analysis
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3726
A model for environmental life cycle analysis, LCA, has been created to compare environmental impact from transmission poles, made alternatively of concrete, steel, aluminium and pine wood treated with CCA type B or creosote. The main pollution sources and energy use are included in the LCA. One pole size, 12 meters long, is presented in the study, a so called "45 kV" pole. Poles of different mate...
M Erlandsson, K Ödeen, M-L Edlund


Colonization of treated and untreated ponderosa pine exposed in Hilo, Hawaii
1995 - IRG/WP 95-20068
The rate of decay in above ground exposures is largely controlled by rainfall and temperature, factors which can be used to construct a climate index of decay hazard in above ground exposures. Developers of new biocide formulations have utilized this knowledge by establishing test sites in sub-tropical regions such as the Gulf Coast of the United States. More recently, field sites have been locate...
C M Freitag, J J Morrell, K J Archer


Performance of groundline bandage remedial treatments in western US species transmission poles
1993 - IRG/WP 93-30019
Groundline bandages are an important element in remedial treatment strategies for utility poles in the United States. Several bandages containing new or reformulated components have recently been developed but have not been adequately tested. This paper reports on the degree of diffusion of copper naphthenate, boron, and sodium fluoride from groundline bandages into pressuretreated Douglas-fir, po...
P G Forsyth, J J Morrell


Field study: Wood degradation pattern in buildings and utility poles in tropical climates of Nigeria
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1521
The paper is the result of five years field study of wood degradation patterns in three ecological forest zones (Guinea Savannah, Tropical rain forest and mangrove forest zones, respectively). It involved 800 residential buildings and 700 electric overhead transmission poles. The methodology used was a modified Eslyn (6) test. A high rate of Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes attack especially on the ...
E O Onuorah


Biodetioration and strength reductions in preservative treated aspen waferboard
1983 - IRG/WP 2195
Experimental aspen waferboards, bonded with liquid or powdered phenol formaldehyde resins and treated by various methods with a wide selection of preservatives, were tested for fungal resistance in accelerated laboratory trials. Mold growth on the surface as well as weight and strength losses due to the actions of decay fungi were determined. Testing of board strength after decay in high and moder...
E L Schmidt, H J Hall, R O Gertjejansen, R C De Groot


Inorganic preservative levels in soil under treated wood decks after 8 years natural exposure in Borås, Sweden
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50233
Inorganic preservative components (Cu, Cr and As) were measured to a depth of 150 mm under deck structures made with Scots pine lumber treated with several different wood preservatives and installed in Borås Sweden 8 years ago. Higher contaminant levels were observed mainly under the drip lines and in the top 50 mm of soil. Under CCA treated decks, soil arsenic concentrations increased from ba...
P A Cooper, Y T Ung, M-L Edlund, J Jermer


Three-dimensional modeling of fumigant distribution in wood poles
1993 - IRG/WP 93-30025
The practice of using fumigants to control internal decay has been widely accepted in the United States and has shown to be effect in control internal decay in transmission poles and other large wood timbers. Mathematical models were developed to simulate the chloropicrin movement in utility poles after treatment. The simulation results indicated that treatment of utility poles, using either tradi...
Jing Liu, B Goodell


Surface checking of CCA-treated radiata pine decking timber exposed to natural weathering
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40165
A field trial was established at four locations in Australia to assess the effect of CCA and CCA-wax treatment on the checking (cracking) of radiata pine decking timber exposed to natural weathering. Untreated decking timber and timber that had been pressure treated with water acted as controls. After 1 year's exposure the number and sizes of checks occurring in treated timber and control...
P D Evans, P J Beutel, C F Donnelly, R B Cunningham


Impact of leachates from CCA- and copper azole-treated pine decking on soil-dwelling invertebrates
2002 - IRG/WP 02-50183
This study assessed the short-term effects on non-target soil invertebrates of leachates from a naturally durable hardwood and timber treated with two copper-based wood preservatives. Natural rainwater leachates from kwila decking, and radiata pine-decking treated with CCA or copper-azole, were collected and applied on mown lawn soil in Brisbane, Queensland. The soil study consisted of 5 treatment...
N Crumière, A House, M J Kennedy


Preliminary observations of the effect of growth ring orientation on the surface checking of flat sawn Southern pine decking
2005 - IRG/WP 05-20313
Checking in decking timber is a serious defect and methods of reducing its severity are required to ensure that wood can compete with alternative decking materials. The first aim of this research was to test the hypothesis that flat sawn Southern pine decking boards with growth rings oriented concave to the exposed surface will develop less severe checking when exposed outdoors than similarly expo...
K Urban, P D Evans


Leaching of Copper from ACQ treated wood exposed above ground
2004 - IRG/WP 04-50219
The leaching of chemicals of ACQ Type C treated wood exposed above ground for 16 months was studied. Commercially treated Hem-fir boards (Tsuga heterophylla Raf. and Amabilis fir Forb) of 37.5 mm by 87.5 mm were used. The amounts of chemical leached monthly by the rainfall were determined and the leachate was collected and analyzed. Also, the environmental factors influencing the leaching were ...
P A Chung, J N R Ruddick


Removing Cu, Cr and As from CCA treated yellow pine by oleic acid
2003 - IRG/WP 03-50202
In this study, CCA treated yellow pine utility poles were cut into three different dimensions and 4 different pH levels (2, 2.5, 3.5 and 5) of Oleic acid was used. The leached wood samples were collected at the end of the 1, 3, 7 and 14 days to determine the remaining Cu, Cr and As concentrations. The concentrations of Cu, Cr and As were determined by X-RF. The effects of pH, dimension and duratio...
E D Gezer, Ü C Yildiz, S Yildiz, E Dizman, A Temiz


Borate diffusion from fused borate rods in douglas-fir transmission poles
1994 - IRG/WP 94-30042
Pressure-treated utility poles have given many years of excellent service, but their lifetime is often shortened by internal decay of the untreated heartwood center, particularly in refractory species, such as Douglas-fir. This paper reports the distribution of boron from fused borate rods installed in CCA-treated Douglas-fir transmission poles. The boric acid equivalent was roughly monitored by t...
T L Highley, W Finney, F Green III


Relating CCA fixation to leaching of CCA components from treated products
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50045
The relationship between chromium fixation in CCA-C treated wood, as determined by CrVI analysis of solution expressed from treated wood and the leaching of Cu, Cr, As and CrVI in a simulated rain test are evaluated for dimension lumber (2"x6") and pole sections. Leachate concentrations after 2 hour exposure to a misting spray (about 300 mm cumulative rainfall) decrease rapidly with increased degr...
P A Cooper, R MacVicar, Y T Ung


CCA type C depletion of Southern yellow pine utility poles
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50049
Depletion and redistribution of preservative components were evaluated on five CCA-C treated poles in service for over six years in Conley, Georgia. A statistical approach was taken in which retentions below ground were compared to retentions above ground due to a lack of initial data on individual poles. It was hypothesized that the below ground retentions should be lower than the corresponding a...
P D Osborne, R F Fox


Potential for controlling carpenter ants in utility poles with borates
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10623
Carpenter ants (genus Camponotus) are important scavengers and predators in the ecosystems in which they occur. Because they excavate and tunnel into wood, carpenter ants are considered structural pests in many parts of North America where they overlap with human activity. The excavation of extensive galleries in wood by carpenter ants can seriously compromise the physical properties of wood in ...
M Mankowski


Preliminary Observations of the Effect of Kerfing on the Surface Checking and Warping of Flat Sawn Southern Pine Decking
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20360
Checking and warping of decking timber are serious defects and methods of reducing their severity are required to ensure that wooden decking can compete with alternative decking materials. Kerfing is effective at reducing the checking and distortion of square cross-section lumber, and the checking of roundwood. In the past it has also been applied to preservative treated decking boards, however, t...
R Ratu, J Weizenegger, P Evans


Effect of barriers on moisture content of treated and non-treated utility poles
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40369
The potential for non-biocidal barriers to slow moisture sorption was investigated using butt treated western redcedar poles immersed in either water or moist soil over a 2 year period. Moisture sorption was initially slowed by the barriers, but openings at the bottoms of the barriers eventually allowed moisture to migrate upward. Moisture levels in wrapped poles eventually reached those found in...
C S Love, J J Morrell


Quantitative and qualitative losses in wood of oriental spruce, Picea orientalis (L.) Link., induced by insects from forest to utility
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10647
In this study, some quantitative and qualitative losses in wood of oriental spruce, Picea orientalis (L.) Link., induced by insects from forest to utility were evaluated. In experimental plots, volume of trees damaged by Dendroctonus micans (Kug.) was 34% of the volume of total standing spruce trees in the oriental spruce forests of Turkey. The volume of standing trees that D. micans damaged was ...
H A Akinci, M Eroglu, G E Özcan, Ü C Yildiz


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


Development of a Weatherometer to Accelerate the Surface Checking of Wood
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20388
There is significant interest in developing preservatives that are better at preventing wood from checking. Currently, however, there is no accepted test methodology for accelerating the development of checks in wood samples so information on the effectiveness of treatments at restricting checking can be obtained more quickly. This paper describes the development of a new type of weatherometer (Ac...
R Ratu, P D Evans


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