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Comparison of culturable fungi found on two types of modified wood cladding
2023 - IRG/WP 23-11025
Modified woods are rapidly gaining popularity in the United States and are appearing on more public buildings. Because these are biocide-free products, they can support the growth of non-wood degrading fungi on their surfaces, many of which produce dark pigments and deface the cladding. Even growth of dark pigmented fungi on modified woods yields an even grey-black color, giving the materials a we...
G Presley, J Cappellazzi, B Held, R Blanchette


Mini-stakes – an alternative test method for EN 252?
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20691
Market approval of wood treatment products requires knowledge and prove of long-term durability. Efficiency of wood treatment with a specific product is evaluated based on variety of tests, including penetration evaluation, leaching studies as well as decay tests. EN 252 standard test is a core method for wood durability evaluation in a ground contact, both for commercial product approval and scie...
R Digaitis, P Larsson Brelid, N Terziev, M Klamer, A W Christof, J Stenaek, N Morsing


Glued laminated poles - Progress report after 43 years of testing
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20692
In 1979, a number of glued laminated poles treated with CCA and creosote were placed in a greenhouse in Uppsala, in the Simlångsdalen test field in south-western Sweden and in a power lane in Vuollerim in northern Sweden, in order to study their resistance against biological degradation. The test poles were treated in a two-step process. All laminations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were first...
J Jermer, M Westin, N Terziev


Effect of Moisture Cycles and Timber Treatment on the Performance of Screwed Connections
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20694
The impact of moisture in timber structures is associated with the deterioration of timber, and loss of mechanical performance. Methods have been developed to treat timber using chemicals to inhibit deterioration, however, water intrusion has much more immediate effects on the mechanical properties of timber associated with swelling and shrinkage of the wood. The effects of moisture on the mechani...
L Yermán, M Xiao, Z Yan, L-M Ottenhaus


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 1: 15 years’ experience with the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20695
A ‘jack of all trades’ method for above-ground wood durability testing has been sought for decades, but until now no method has found its way into standardization. The method of choice shall be applicable for untreated and treated wood – ideally also for wood composites. It shall be reproducible, objective, fast, easy, and inexpensive. Finally, it shall provide high predictive power. This s...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Field durability testing of wood above ground - Part 2: The full guideline of the Bundle method
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20696
To determine the biological durability of wood above ground, numerous approaches for test methods have been pursued and tried out in the field in the past. So far, no method has managed to find its way into a European standard. During the last 15 years, experience with the Bundle method has been gained. As described in Part 1 of this paper, the method is recommended as a suitable tool for determin...
C Brischke, G Alfredsen, L Emmerich, M Humar, L Meyer-Veltrup


Laboratory durability testing of preservative treated wood products – first attempts and observations
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20697
In the past, durability classes (DC) had been assigned to wood species, sometimes also to homogenously modified wood-based materials such as thermally modified wood. More recently, some standards allow for classifying the biological durability of chemically modified wood, preservative treated wood and wood composites. Even treated products may be subject to durability classification, but necessary...
C Brischke, M Sievert, M Schilling, S Bollmus


Simulations of microclimates for wood-decaying fungi in the built environment using environmental analysis
2023 - IRG/WP 23-20703
Simulations of fungal decay risk were run on two similar building geometries exposed to typical annual climate conditions of two different geographical locations, Brunswick (Germany) and Cairns (Australia). The simulations were conducted to capture the effect of wind-driven rain and solar irradiation exposure over nodes of the common building geometry. The moisture content and temperature variatio...
P B van Niekerk, J Niklewski, S H Hosseini, B N Marais, I Frimannslund, T Kringlebotn Thiis, C Brischke


Performance of a noise barrier with different wood materials – results from a service trial after 25 years of exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30776
In connection with the construction of the railway connection between Stockholm Arlanda airport and Stockholm city, an 11 km long noise barrier made of untreated European larch was built along the railway line. This provided an opportunity to implement a full-scale study comparing different untreated wood species and preservative treatments. Thus, in March 1996 ten test sections including untreate...
J Jermer, M Westin


Improvement of durability of Scots pine against termites by impregnation with citric acid and glycerol followed by in situ polyesterification
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30777
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood samples were impregnated with solution containing citric acid (CA) and glycerol (Gly) followed by heating 140 °C according to already described procedure (L'hostis et al. 2018). The resulting modified woods were then used to evaluate the effect of chemical modification on the durability against termites. Two kinds of experiments were conducted for this purpos...
M Mubarok, J Damay, E Masson, E Fredon, Y S Hadi, I W Darmawan, P Gerardin


Establishing the minimum effective penetration of wood preservatives in the refractory heartwood of E. nitens
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30780
Conventional pressure treatment of many Australian hardwoods results in little to no penetration of heartwood and a non-uniform envelope treatment of <5 mm surrounding a mostly untreated core. This is a major issue for many of the low durability plantation hardwood timbers that are grown in Tasmania, which contain high percentages of heartwood. Long term studies on softwoods such as spruce decking...
J R Vargas, J J Morrell, L Yermán, K C Wood


Field performance of MCA-treated wood in ground contact
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30782
Micronized Copper Azole (MCA) was evaluated for its ability to resist biodegradation at two Canadian test sites using Pacific silver fir and white spruce stakes, and lodgepole pine and red pine roundwood posts. After 12 years of exposure the treated stakes exhibited low to moderate levels of decay while the untreated controls had failed. When stakes were moved to an active termite site, the untrea...
C Wilson, J Zhang, R Stirling


Recent studies into improved fire retardancy of wood undertaken at Luleå University of Technology
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30784
Modern construction is moving more towards engineered wood products, such as glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT). This increase is driven by the aspiration to deliver high-rise buildings with enhanced environmental profiles and human well-being. This desire to use wood in construction is pushing the need for fire treatments capable of meeting a products service life. However, the use of wood ...
D Jones, C-F Lin, I Kim, E Garskaite, O Karlsson, D Sandberg


Reuse of discarded wood and alternative wood species to replace spruce in the development of wooden windows for complete disassembly – REWINNUSE
2023 - IRG/WP 23-30785
The REWINNUSE project focuses on the reuse of discarded wood and alternative wood species and on the development of wooden windows that can be easily disassembled into their basic components. In cooperation with the project partners (M Sora, the University of Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty (BF), the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy - NIBIO and the Slovenian Forestry Institute (GIS)), the project ...
B Lesar, M Humar, J Levanič, A Treu, A Ugovšek, L Kramarič, B Štrakel, L Križnar, B Šubic, J Gričar


Emerging wood nanotechnologies towards sustainable application and preservation
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40959
Wood is one of the most abundant biomaterials on earth and has been used for construction historically. Although existing wood composites are commercially successful, materials development has not targeted nano-structural control of the wood cell wall, which could extend the property range. The high porosity and permeability of wood scaffold provide excellent opportunities for material infiltratio...
Q Fu, T Singh, D Elustondo, M Sorieul


Biological durability and wood-water interactions of sorbitol and citric acid modified wood – Effects on the expected service life
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40960
A high level of research activities on sorbitol and citric acid (SorCA) modified wood has been recognized in Europe over the last few years. As this treatment is close to entering an industrial-scale production, it is of interest to investigate how such treated wood performs upon long-term outdoor exposure. Hence, in this study Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was modified with aqueous sol...
K Kurkowiak, L Emmerich, H Militz


The influence of chemical and thermal modification on homogeneity between sapwood, heartwood, and transition wood of short rotation teak
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40961
Short rotation teak wood has low quality especially in durability. Heartwood presents sufficient natural durability and poor impregnability; meanwhile, most sapwood requires special treatment to increase its durability. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of thermal or chemical treatment on homogenization between sapwood, heartwood, and transition wood for some selected proper...
R Martha, B George, W Darmawan, P Gerardin


Evaluation of the efficacy of silver nanoparticles and chitosan oligomer composites as poplar wood protective treatments against termites
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40963
Populus × euramericana ‘I-214’ (poplar) is a fast-growing species widely distributed throughout the world, and in the Castile-Leon region of Spain it accounts for more than 50% of all plantations. Its wood is becoming increasingly appreciated, yet its low durability against xylophagous agents —termites being one of the most aggressive and destructive in warm climates— continues to be a li...
E Spavento, M T Troya, M Casado-Sanz, J Martín-Gil, P Matín-Ramos, L Robertson, L Acuña-Rello


Adhesion and performance of exterior wood coatings on chemically and thermally modified wood – Results from 5.5 years outdoor exposure
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40964
Non-durable softwood and hardwood species were treated with the water-soluble cyclic N-methylol compounds 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and methylated DMDHEU. One half of the modified specimens were coated with a waterborne acrylic coating system prior a natural weathering for 5.5 years according to EN 927-3 (2020). By frequent evaluations, the impact of chemical modifications ...
L Emmerich, H Militz


Resistance of phenol formaldehyde impregnated beech (Fagus sylvativa L.) LVL against biodegradation in soil contact
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40965
Alternatives to preservative impregnation are emphasized in Germany and other European countries. Even though these treatments significantly improve wood's resistance to decay, they often do not have a beneficial impact on the dimensional stability. One alternative product, which may be used in ground contact for items like poles and railway sleepers, could be beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) laminated ...
M Slabohm, C Brischke, S Bicke, H Militz


Longitudinal tensile shear properties of polyurethane-bonded preservative-impregnated Eucalyptus grandis laminates subjected to varied simulated climatic conditions
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40967
Bonding process adaptations have yielded improvements in the adhesive bonding of Eucalyptus grandis wood for manufacturing hardwood laminates. However, there are still concerns over the adhesive-bond performance, particularly preservative-impregnated E. grandis laminates, under exposure to varying climatic conditions. These concerns could limit the implementation of E. grandis laminates, especiall...
A A Alade, C B Wessels


Estimation of single shear strength performance of screw joints with decayed wood
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40968
In order to use existing wooden structures for a long term, it is necessary to evaluate appropriately the damage degree of bio-deterioration of the structural performance including the members and joint systems. As one for them, it is necessary to estimate more accurate the single shear strength performance of screw joints with decay. Therefore, we proposed the model considering the yield strength...
R Inoue, K Tanaka, T Mori


Non-vacuum/pressure ACQ treatment
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40971
Many developing countries are located in sub-tropical or tropical regions where rapid wood deterioration results in early failure of many structures. Whilst preservative treatment would help to reduce these losses and extend the forest resource commercial vacuum pressure treatment systems are often too expensive. The use of lower technology treatment systems, while not as quick as vacuum pressure ...
J Norton


New wood-modification process based on grafted urethane groups: Durability of carbamamylated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40974
Substituting commonly used toxic preservatives with wood modification treatments can make the wood material less prone to water and moisture uptake. This approach favours a more sustainable protection of wood against biodegradation. In this study, Scots pine sapwood was full-cell impregnated with an aqueous solution of urea (30%), dried at 40°C for 24h, and subsequently heat-treated at 150°C for...
C-F Lin, O Myronycheva, O Karlsson, D Jones, D Sandberg


Investigating wood anatomical factors influencing the treatability of refractory southern pine- an imaging approach
2023 - IRG/WP 23-40975
Southern pine sapwood is non-durable, and preservative treatment is necessary to protect it against biological degradation. According to AS 1604.1 2021, timber products must have their sapwood fully treated with preservatives for various applications and hazard classes. However, there is a growing industry concern over the refractory sections of sapwood, which are untreated pockets of wood that do...
M Shirmohammadi, M R Karbaschi, B Hassan, W Leggate


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