IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Durability of Wood Plastic Composites Relative to Natural Weathering and Preservative Treatment With Zinc Borate
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40316
Wood-Plastic Composites (WPCs) used for decking have experienced dramatic increases in North America, averaging 25% growth per annum since 1998. A key factor contributing to this growth has been the successfully communicated message that they are "virtually maintenance free". The common perception being that the wood fiber is completely encapsulated by the thermoplastic resin, minimizing the pot...
M E Mankowski, F M Ascherl, M J Manning


Durability of Wood/Plastic Composites Made From Parthenium species
2002 - IRG/WP 02-40225
Previous study indicated that the natural chemical constituents of the guayule plant (Parthenium argentatum) improved some durability properties of wood when it was treated with resin extracted from guayule. At present, there are about a dozen species of Parthenium growing in the North American continent. P. argentatum is the only species with harvestable amounts of the rubber latex. Other specie...
P Chow, F S Nakayama , J A Youngquist, J H Muehl, A M Krzysik


Laboratory methods for assessing the resistance of wood plastic composites to fungal attack.
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20340
Wood plastic composites (WPC’s) have many attractive material features including dimensional stability and resistance to moisture, but the wood in these materials remains susceptible to fungal attack. Assessing WPC decay resistance in laboratory trials has proven difficult because the slow moisture sorption characteristics of this material do not allow for sufficient fungal attack over the trad...
J J Morrell


Testing biological durability of wood-plastic composites
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20347
Testing biological durability is inherently different for wood-plastic composites (WPC) compared to solid timber. However there is clearly a need for more information on the durability of WPC’s, on the effect of decay on the material properties of WPC’s and on methods for assessing decay of WPC’s. For the emerging European WPC market there has been some discussions on how to work on these to...
J Van Acker


Wood plastic composites from modified wood; Part 1 - Conceptual idea, mechanical and physical properties
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40338
Wood plastic composites, WPCs, are rapidly taking shares from preservative treated wood on the decking market. However, the long term performance of the WPC products in this application is uncertain. Therefore, in an attempt to increase the long term performance and durability, the substitution of the unmodified wood component with modified wood has been studied in the work presented in this paper...
P Larsson Brelid, B K Segerholm, M Westin, M E P Wålinder


Wood-Plastic Composites and the Durability Dilemma: Observations from the Field
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40351
Wood-Plastic Composites (WPCs) used for decking, window & door moldings have experienced dramatic growth in North America over the last several years, with annual production increasing at rates greater than 20% per annum since 1998. A key factor contributing to this growth has been the successfully communicated message that they are "virtually maintenance free". The common perception being t...
M J Manning, F M Ascherl, M E Mankowski


Wood plastic composites from modified wood. Part 2 - Durability in laboratory decay tests
2006 - IRG/WP 06-40353
The decay resistance of wood plastic composites, WPCs, was tested according to modified versions of AWPA E10 (soil-block test) and ENV 807 (tests in three un-sterile soils, terrestrial microcosms, TMCs). The WPC materials were conically extruded profiles with 30% polypropylene content. The 70% wood content was untreated Scots pine sapwood, acetylated pine and heat treated Norway spruce, respective...
M Westin, P Larsson Brelid, M L Edlund, G Alfredsen


Wood plastic composites from modified wood. Part 3. Durability of WPCs with bioderived matrix
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40423
The decay resistance of fully bio-derived wood plastic composites, WPCs, was tested in both laboratory and field tests. The laboratory tests were performed according to modified versions of AWPA E10 (soil-block test) and ENV 807 (tests in three un-sterile soils) and the field tests according to EN 252 (stakes in ground) and EN 275 (resistance to marine borers). The WPC materials for laboratory tes...
M Westin, P Larsson Brelid, B K Segerholm, M Van den Oever


Termite Resistant Properties of Wood and Natural Fiber Plastic Composites - AWPA E1 Test Data
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40466
This paper deals with resistance properties of wood plastic composites against Formosan Subterranean Termites (FSTs) based on the AWPA E1 test standard. Sixteen laboratory WPC formulations, four WPC commercial materials, and southern pine (Pinus sp.) wood control were tested for termite mortality, sample weight loss, and sample damage rating. The results show that FSTs did attack WPC products in ...
Q Wu, T Shupe, J Curole, K Ragon, M Voitier, M Freeman, D Ring


Progress in Fire-Retardant Research on Wood and Wood-Based Composites: a China Perspective
2009 - IRG/WP 09-40476
The fire retardant research on wood and wood-based composites, which was carried out in China in the past two decades, was reviewed with 55 references. While many kinds of fire retardants for wood and wood-based composites have been studied, the mainstream is still the compound or the mixture containing phosphorus, nitrogen and boron elements, which can be used in the form of water solution in th...
Wang Qingwen, Wang Fengqiang, Hu Yunchu, Li Jian


Extruded wood plastic composites based on ACQ and MCQ-treated wood materials
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40495
This paper deals with wood plastic composites manufactured using ACQ and MCQ-treated wood fibers recovered from a wood treatment plant. The goal was to investigate the effect of coupling treatments on the properties of manufactured wood plastic composites (WPCs) through injection molding and to manufacture co-extruded WPC with treated wood fibers. The result demonstrated sound mechanical propertie...
Qinglin Wu, Fei Yao, K Ragon, J Curole, M Voitier, T Shupe


The utilization of sand dusts of MDF panel as filler in wood plastic composites
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40500
Waste management is getting important in the world. Most of wood based panel industries are interested in utilization of wood residues such as saw dust, sand dust and wood flour in other applications. The objective of this study is to investigate the usability of sand dust of MDF in wood plastic composites. HDPE and PP based composites with 30 % sand dusts loading were compounded in the single sc...
A D Cavdar, H Kalaycioglu, F Mengeloglu, K Karakus, H Yel


Moisture dynamics of WPC as basis for biological durability
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40520
The largest market for wood-polymer composites (WPCs) is currently decking. Although many products are commercially available, a proper standard for the assessment of the biological durability of WPC does not exist. Recommended standards for testing resistance against basidiomycetes should be completed with a method to bring the specimens in a worst case situation, obtaining a moisture level high ...
N Defoirdt, J Van Acker, J Van den Bulcke


Lignin blocking effects on weathering process of wood plastic composites
2010 - IRG/WP 10-40529
The weathering of wood–plastic composites (WPC) causes discoloration which affects their aesthetic aspects. It has been proved that these discolorations are due to lignin degradation. Effects of blocking the susceptible structure of lignin assessed by chemical treatment such as acetylation and methylation are reported in this study. Surface chemical change of wood plastic composite (WPC) formula...
P Darabi, A Naghi karimi, S Ahmade Mirshokraie, M-F Thévenon


Biological performance of wood- and bamboo-polypropylene composites: Effects of particle content, particle size and Zn borate
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40577
Particle content and size of wood material in wood plastic composites (WPCs) can affect efficacy of WPCs against fungi and termites. This study evaluated fungal and termite resistance of WPCs manufactured by using two different levels of particle content (50 and 70%) and three different particle sizes (30, 60, and 100 mesh). In fungal resistance tests, Tyromyces palustris, a standardized test fung...
S N Kartal, S Aysal, E Terzi, T Yoshimura, K Tsunoda


Moisture and Fungal Durability of Wood-Plastic Composites Made With Chemically Modified and Treated Wood Flour
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40648
Evaluating the fungal durability of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) is complicated by the influence of slow moisture sorption. Recently, the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) Standard Method E10, Testing Wood Preservatives by Laboratory Soil-Block Cultures, was modified to incorporate not only solid wood, but also wood-based composites and WPCs. To simulate long term WPC performance, cond...
B K Segerholm, R E Ibach


Field performance of wood-based decking materials in the Western United States
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30645
While wood has long been used for the construction of decks and other outdoor features, a variety of wood-plastic composite (WPC) decking products have emerged over the past decade with claims of exceptional durability and low maintenance. There are relatively few long term comparative tests on these products. The performance of selected WPC decking products was compared with naturally durable we...
S Lipeh, C S Love, J J Morrell


Decay resistance of wood-plastic composites reinforced with extracted or delignified wood flour
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40655
The moisture and decay resistance of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) reinforced with extracted or delignified wood flour (WF) was investigated. Three different extractions were preformed: toluene/ethanol (TE), acetone/water (AW), and hot water (HW). Delignification (DL) was performed using a sodium chlorite/acetic acid solution. All WPCs specimens were made with 50% by weight HDPE and WF, first com...
R E Ibach, Yao Chen, N M Stark, M A Tshabalala, Yongming Fan, Jianmin Gao


Modern Instrumental Methods to Investigate the Mechanism of Biological Decay in Wood Plastic Composites
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40674
Various instrumental techniques were used to study the fungal decay process in wood plastic composite (WPC) boards. Commercial boards exposed near Hilo, Hawaii (HI) for eight years in both sun and shadow locations were inspected and tested periodically. After eight years of exposure, both boards were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while a selected area of the board exposed in sh...
G Sun, R Ibach, M Gnatowski, J Glaeser, M Leung, J Haight


Fabrication and characterization of MicroPCMs filled wood-plastic composites: Effects of polyethylene glycol on melamine–formaldehyde shell material
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40728
Microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs) containing dodecanol were fabricated using melamine-formaldehyde (MF) or polyethylene glycol 200 modified melamine-formaldehyde (PMF) resin as the shell materials by in situ polymerization. Wood flour/high-density polyethylene (WF/HDPE) composites with MF shell MicroPCMs (MF-MicroPCMs) or PMF shell MicroPCMs (PMF-MicroPCMs) were prepared, respec...
Xi Guo, Jinzhen Cao


Properties of Wood Plastic Composites Made of Recycled HDPE and Remediated Wood Flour from CCA/CCB Treated Wood Removed from Service
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40747
Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and copper, chromium and boron (CCB) have been widely used in pressure treated wood as a heavy duty preservative to protect wood against insects and fungi for more than 60 years. Although many attempts have been done to solve the problems related to out-service treated wood, the problem still remains. Only a few studies were done to utilize the out-of service treate...
E D Gezer, S Akbaş, M Tufan, A Temiz


Fungal resistance and accelerated weathering of Wood-Plastic composites reinforced with Maritime pine wood flour
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40750
This study evaluates the durability of wood-polymer composites (WPCs) elaborated for use in cladding application from recycled polypropylene (rPP) and wood flour. Local Maritime pine wood flour derived from regional sawmills was used in the study to reduce the environmental impact associated with transport. Different wood-plastic ratios with and without UV stabilizers and biocide were tested. One ...
M Jebrane, T Fournier, N-E El Bounia, F Charrier-El Bouhtoury


The use of new, aqueous chemical wood modifications to improve the durability of wood-plastic composites
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40787
The wood flour used in wood-plastic composites (WPCs) can biologically deteriorate and thus the overall mechanical performance of WPCs decrease when exposed to moisture and fungal decay. Protecting the wood flour by chemical modification can improve the durability of the wood in a nontoxic way so it is not harmful to the environment. WPCs were made with modified wood flour and then evaluated for m...
R E Ibach, C M Clemons, G C Chen


Termite resistance of wood-plastic composites made with acetylated wood flour, coupling agent or zinc borate
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10917
There is little published scientific literature on the laboratory or field testing of wood-plastic composites (WPC) against termite attack. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate termite resistance (both laboratory and field) of 5 different extruded WPC blends of 50% western pine wood flour (WF) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and untreated pine solid wood. The study in...
R E Ibach, Y S Hadi, C M Clemons, S Yusuf


Wood-Plastic Composites preservation against fire: Nanofillers as fire retardant alternative
2018 - IRG/WP 18-40843
The purpose of this study is to improve fire resistance of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPCs) by adding inorganic nanofillers. Indeed, the main components of WPC, namely wood and polymer are both flammable materials despite the fact that WPCs are used in the field of construction. The effect of nanofillers on fire retardancy of Wood-High density polyethylene Composites was studied with three nanofille...
D Ben Ammar, A Koubaa, S Migneault, H Bouafif


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