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L-joint based testing for service life prediction of exterior plywood in out of ground contact conditions
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20342
Good biological performance of several plywood types in exterior conditions is most probably related to altered wood moisture behaviour compared to solid wood. Therefore a test set up was developed, using EN 330 L-joint testing methodology, to facilitate differentiation of plywood for exterior applications. The proposed test set up is an adaptation of an accelerated L-joint method introduced by V...
J De Smet, I De Windt, J Van Acker


Service life prediction of wood: scale-dependent tools within a bio-engineering framework
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20387
Service life prediction (SLP) is a complex yet essential method for the building industry. Accurate and precise assessment of the components is crucial for a strong position of wood on the market. As it is a biological material, wood has an inherent variability and is susceptible to fungal attack. Therefore a profound knowledge of these characteristics is the corner stone of SLP for wood products....
J Van den Bulcke, J Van Acker, M Stevens


How to Increase the Lifespan of Exterior Wood Coatings
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40700
In addition to aesthetic appeal, coatings are designed to protect the wood from weathering degradation in outdoor conditions. This paper gives an overview of the effects of main components of coating, coating properties, and wood treatments on coating performance. Understanding how different type of resins (alkyd, acrylic or polyurethane), amount of pigments, type of solvents (organic or water), a...
M Nejad


Identification of the key factors influencing development of the blue stain fungi
2016 - IRG/WP 16-10872
Service life of wood is more and more frequently affected by aesthetic requirements than functional ones. In order to elucidate various aspects of service life, model house with façade elements made of 22 materials was built on the field test site at Department of Wood Science and Technology in Ljubljana. Colour and fungal disfigurement is among other parameters monitored on this house. In parall...
D Kržišnik, B Lesar, N Thaler, M Humar


Expert versus multi-sensor evaluation of wood samples after short term weathering
2016 - IRG/WP 16-20587
Understanding the influence of weathering factors and the material degradation mechanisms are fundamental for modelling the weathering process of wood. The goal of this work was to investigate the combined effect of time and exposure on the physical-chemical mechanisms of wood weathering. Four exposure directions (North, South, East and West) were investigated. Experimental tests were performed fo...
A Sandak, J Sandak, I Burud, L Ross Gobakken, M Noël


Influence of Weathering on Moisture Performance of Wood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-20619
Water performance of wood is besides the inherent durability the most important factor that influences on the performance of wood in outdoor, above ground applications. Therefore it is of significant importance to optimize the methods that are able to predict the moisture behaviour of wood in outdoor applications. In order to elucidate this questions, samples were prepared of oak (Quercus), sweet ...
M Žlahtič-Zupanc, B Lesar, N Thaler, M Humar


Colour changes in unpainted wooden façades – Fifty Shades of Grey
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10903
In Norway the use of weathered unpainted, wooden façades has increased in popularity the last 20 years, both in single family houses as well as in multi-story and non-residential buildings. The benefit of using unpainted wood as façade material can be several: low maintenance costs, low environmental impact and low carbon footprint as well as contemporary and trendy aesthetic appearance. The va...
K Zimmer, L R Gobakken, O Flindall, M Nygaard


Durability by design – a case study of the performance of wooden decks after 9.5 years of natural weathering
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20648
The service life expected for wood decking manufactured with poorly durable wood species, left untreated and exposed to severe environmental conditions such as high humidity and active biological agents, is usually assumed to be short (less than 10 years). The current classification of wood’s natural durability is based on EN standardised tests which do not fully reflect the real end-use conditi...
M Kutnik, M Montibus


Extending the useful life of creosoted electricity distribution poles in service
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-16
Creosoted transmission poles have provided good service over many decades in a whole range of environments. The use of save biocides for secondary treatments has the potential to extend the life of such poles. These techniques, together with a full understanding of the modes of failure, make it possible to establish new strategies to further improve the environmental benefits of treated wooden pol...
D J Dickinson, B Calver


Effect of a penta emulsion on the service life of Douglas fir, heartwood posts
1978 - IRG/WP 3112
C S Walters


How to Document the Performance of Super-Critical Treated Wood in above Ground Situations?
2005 - IRG/WP 05-20316
The paper presents practical experiences from the preparation of a new preservative treated wood product for introduction to the market. The product in question is Superwood™, which is treated with organic biocides using CO2 in a supercritical state as a solvent. The question is how to evaluate the performance of a new product such as Superwood™ in order to get an acceptance on the market a...
N Morsing, A H H Wong, F Imsgard, O Henriksen


Blue stain in timber in service. Results of co-operative tests to compare different artificial weathering systems 1981-82
1983 - IRG/WP 2193
The paper describes results of the third phase of co-operative laboratory experiments comparing the effects of different artificial weathering systems on chemicals to control blue-stain in service. Atlas, Xenotest and Marr equipments are shown to give essentially the same results for 5 of the 6 chemicals tested....
A F Bravery, D J Dickinson


Inspection results of preservative treated stakes, maximum 33 years in field
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3690
Since in 1958, we have undertaken field experiments in Japan. For these field experiments, we used sapwoods of Japanese cedar called Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) because of majority of plantation forest soft wood species in Japan. For some preservatives, we added sapwood of Japanese beech called Buna (Fagus crenata), a main Japanese hard wood species. Dimensions of these specimens were 30 x 30 x 60...
K Suzuki, K Yamamoto, M Inoue, S Matsuoka


Scientific development for prolonging the service life of timbers by impregnating with creosote or organic solvent type preservatives in which additive has been incorporated
1977 - IRG/WP 382
Chemically impregnated wood has played a prominent part in the Telephone and Electricity Distribution Industry during the past century and there is no doubt that it will play an equally prominent part in the future. The reasons why wood poles and wooden, structures predominate, are that when adequately chemically impregnated with a recognised timber preservative to ensure the expected service life...
P R B D De Bruin


An approach to testing the preventive effectiveness of preservative treatments for wooden joinery
1981 - IRG/WP 2156
The ecological sequence established in field trial samples exposed out of ground contact has shown the need for outdoor exposure in testing potential joinery preservative pretreatments. A system of exposure of L-joint units is proposed. Data obtained by examining samples destructively show promise as the basis for predicting service life after relatively short exposure periods (within 2 years)....
J K Carey, A F Bravery, J G Savory


The performance of glue laminated railway ties after 40 years of service in the main line track
1989 - IRG/WP 2325
Two series of horizontally glue laminated ties made of a softwood body and topped with a hardwood lamination were creosoted and installed in 1947 in a tangent and a curved main line track. The tests are now 40 years old and the excellent condition of the ties of these two series suggest that a service life of 50-60 years can be expected....
J P Hösli, E E Doyle, C P Bird, T Lee


Reliability-based service life prediction methodology for assessment of water protection efficiency for coatings on wood
2003 - IRG/WP 03-20268
Assessment of water protection efficiency according to EN 927-5 has been shown to give significant differences in water absorption values for different types of coatings on wood. It is shown that the combination of EN 927-5 and an artificial weathering procedure gives more information regarding expected durability and long-term performance than a single measurement of water absorption on fresh, un...
J Ekstedt


Estimation of service life of durable timber species by accelerated decay test and fungal cellar test
2002 - IRG/WP 02-20249
Many kinds of durable wood species for outdoor uses has been imported from all over the world to Japan. However information on the natural durability of these species is not sufficient to estimate the service life of them in the climate of Japan. Highly durable species such as Jarrh, Teak, Ipe, Ekki, Selangan batu, Red wood, Western red cedar showed no significant percent mass losses by accelerate...
K Yamamoto, I Momohara


Thirty-four year test of on-site preservative treatments to control decay in wood above ground
1993 - IRG/WP 93-30015
This research was initiated in 1958 to investigate efficacy of various preservatives and treating methods for new lumber going into exterior structures of buildings. Post-rail units (2x4 inches) constructed of Southern Pine sapwood, Douglas-fir heartwood, and mill run western hemlock were dip- or brush-treated before or after assembly. Units were trested with pentachlorophenol in various petroleum...
T L Highley, T C Scheffer


HCB - a new preservative combination for wood pole maintenance
1996 - IRG/WP 96-30122
New combination of heavy creosoted boron (HCB) applied on hardwood and softwood logs at different moisture content revealed successful diffusion of boron in all sapwoods within 7 days and in all sapwoods plus hardwoods within 15 days. The new cost effective paste sterilizes wood through diffusion and suitable for pole maintenance at groundline and above groundline e.g. cut ends, drilled holes, woo...
A K Lahiry


The effect of service life and preservative treatment on the hardness of wooden poles
1989 - IRG/WP 3537
The surface hardness of utility poles is an important parameter which effects the acceptability of the pole as being safe to climb during line maintenance. The current investigation was designed to evaluate how the surface hardness of preservative treated utility poles is effected by the type of preservative, and the age of the poles. Chromated-copper-arsenate (CCA) treated red pine and jack pine ...
E B Jonsson, E M A Nilsson, J N R Ruddick


A new model for wetting and drying of wood end-grain – with implications for durability and service-life
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20477
New experimental data for wetting and drying of wood end-grain, Sandberg (2009), imply that traditional models for moisture transport are not at all applicable. A new model is developed to consider the phenomenological behaviour of water transport in and out of end-grain, using the pore water pressure and sorption scanning properties. Modelling results are compared to experimental results and the ...
L-O Nilsson, K Sandberg


Test Methods – Performance Based Requirements
2004 - IRG/WP 04-20297
In this paper is briefly described the present approach to service life prediction as an essential part of the architectural engineering process. The system of testing the durability of wood is described more in detail including laboratory tests as well as field trials. It is concluded that the system has a lot of weaknesses which makes it less well suited for practical building applications. A le...
M-L Edlund, F Englund, J Jermer, T Nilsson, M Westin, K Ödeen


Preservative performance of copper naphthenate (SANPRESER-OGR) in brush treatment of timber
1991 - IRG/WP 3663
Preservative efficacy of copper naphthenate (SANPRESER-OGR) was evaluated in the laboartory and field trials when timber was treated by brushing. Results of field trial indicated that service life of the brush-treated timber could be approximately 10 years or longer under ground contact conditions, although life span was slightly varied with timber species and test sites. After four years&apos...
Y Sugai, K Hamada, M Kitada, K Tomoi


An engineering model for the decay of timber in ground contact
2003 - IRG/WP 03-20260
To predict the residual strength of an engineered structure, it is first necessary to predict the effect of decay. A model was developed in which the effective area of structural decay in large section timbers was defined as that area that could be picked out with a pen-knife. Some limited studies indicated that for practical purposes the remaining wood could be assumed to have its full residual s...
R H Leicester, C-H Wang, M N Nguyen, J D Thornton, G Johnson, D Gardner, G C Foliente, C MacKenzie


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