International Research Group (IRG) on Wood Protection
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ItemCo-operative work on the performance of treated timber in ground contact(1975)At the 6th meeting of The International Research Group on Wood Preservation in Vienna, it was decided to approach all interested parties in order to: collate available information, set up collaborative work and to stimulate research on the performance of treated timber, especially hardwoods, in ground contact. In recent years, considerable concern has been expressed about the performance of preservative treated hardwoods in ground contact. Unexpected failures of seemingly well treated hardwoods to soft rot has stimulated work at several research centres. Ideas and theories are beginning to be put forward and the IRG consider that a major effort is required in this area. It has been decided to direct this effort into 2 main areas: a) In the collation of all existing data held around the world concerning the performance of treated timber in ground contact; and b) In the establishment of a co-operative field experiment to study the performance of treated hardwoods. It is hoped that this field experiment will also stimulate related research which can be related to the field results.
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ItemProposals for a field experiment to determine the performance of preservative treated hardwoods with particular reference to soft rot(1975)It is proposed to treat a series of hardwood stakes in the UK and install them in different sites around the world. The stakes will include 3 reference species common to every site and 2 locally selected species. The hazard of termites should be avoided in order to limit the study to action of micro-organisms.
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ItemFinal proposals for a field experiment to determine the performance of preservative treated hardwoods with particular reference to soft rot(1976)A series of hardwood stakes have been prepared and treated in the UK from samples (mainly sapwood) supplied from participants around the world. The stakes include 4 reference species common to each site and, in most cases, at least 2 local species of importance. The treated stakes will be despatched to the co-operating scientists and installed under local conditions. It is hoped that with periodic assessment it will be possible to build up a picture of the performance of a range of economically important species throughout the world.
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ItemA summary of work carried out to compare natural and artificial weathering for preconditioning test specimens in testing anti-stain chemicals for wood in service(1976)Since 1972 work has been in progress within CEN to establish a European standard for the testing of wood preservatives designed to prevent blue-staining of wood in service. The method is based on the Butin test and involves pre-weathering of the samples prior to biological testing. The weathering regime employed is 6 months outside exposure from March to October. This imposes severe limitations on the number of tests that can be carried out each year and has prompted considerable interest in an artificial weathering procedure which can be used instead of natural weathering. Recently four European laboratories (EMPA, BAM, IC, PRL) have been involved in assessing artificial systems (Xenotest, Marr, Gardener wheel, weathering tunnel) and this report has been prepared at the request of CEN in order to assess the accumulated data and make recommendations back to the CEN. This document presents only a brief account of the work and fuller details can be obtained directly from the laboratories concerned.
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ItemSupplementary experiment to the main trial (IRG/WP/367, 384) to determine the performance of preservative treated hardwoods with particular reference to soft rot(1977)The field experiment being carried out by the IRG (described in document IRG/WP/367) is designed to obtain information on the performance of a preservative in different hardwoods in ground contact. A total of 57 timber species is being examined and 36 different field sites are involved representing a complete range of climatic conditions. IRG document WP/384 describes the treatment details of the trial. At the inception of the trial a decision was taken to limit the experiment by including only one preservative and this was chosen as a copper-chrome-arsenic type conforming to British Standard BS 4072 : 1974. The wisdom of that decision is now clear since, even with one preservative, there are more than 6000 stakes involved. At the IRG meetings in the last three years this experiment has been considered in the general discussion of soft rot in hardwoods, and the desire has been expressed to extend the scope to an evaluation of the performance of hardwoods treated with other preservatives. In this connection, creosote, copper-chrome-boron, copper-chrome-fluoride and PCP in fuel oil have been mentioned. In view of the length of time required to plan a co-operative trial up to the time of installing the stakes in the test plot it is apparent that the next stages of the work, involving detailed tests using other preservatives, will not be completed for some time. A programme was therefore planned by the authors to carry out a limited experiment on the lines of the first formal IRG field trial, but using CBC, PCP and creosote as the preservatives. By carrying out the treatments quickly it we hoped to be able to install the test stakes with a minimum of delay after the setting out the stakes in the main trial. It was decided to use three of the main experiment reference species. Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, Pinus sylvestris and one additional hardwood Eucalyptus maculata. It was further decided to expose the treated stakes at two sites, in the UK and Australia.
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ItemTesting wood in ground contact: An artificial soil(1977)This document is an interim report on the development of the artificial soil medium. It includes some information on the relationship between soil, wood and water which is of relevance in testing.
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ItemBlue stain in timber in service. Preliminary results of the IRG collaborative tests to compare natural and artificial weathering(1978)The collaborative programme was initiated at IRG Meetings in Wildhaus, 1976. The six collaborators were BAM (Berlin), Cuprinol Ltd (UK), EMPA (Switzerland), GORI (Denmark), PRL (UK) and Imperial College (UK). Experimental plans were finalised in December 1976 and panels treated by Cuprinol Ltd early in 1977. Natural weathering was carried out by BAM, Cuprinol, EMPA, GORI and PRL during April-September 1977. The biological test was carried out by the authors at PRL during May and June 1978 and final assessments were made in September 1978. Artificial weathering systems used were the BAM Weathering System, a modified Marr system (Cuprinol), the Xenotest (EMPA), the Atlas equipment (GORI), the Marr equipment (PRL). In the main, natural weathering during 1977 was equivalent to the artificial weathering systems run for 500 hours and slightly more severe than the same systems run for 250 hours. It is suggested that the most technically appropriate artificial weathering systems are the Atlas (500 hrs) and the Marr (250 hours).
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ItemPreliminary results from the field experiment to determine the performance of preservative treated hardwoods with particular reference to soft rot. The four reference timber(1980)The results given in the Tables 1-4 each refer to one of the four reference species treated with four solution concentrations of CCA as recorded from each test site. The species are: Alstonia scholaris, Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, Pinus sylvestris. The treatments were: Untreated, 0.66% CCA, 1.53% CCA, 3.01% CCA, 5.60% CCA. Each figure is an average of the ratings recorded for each replicate of the species at a particular treatment and a particular inspection. The agreed ratings were: Sound - no attack (Condition): 0 (Rating); Slight and superficial decay (attack): 1; Evident but moderate decay (attack): 2; Severe decay (attack): 3; Failure - almost complete loss of strength: 4. Detailed instructions were set out in the IRG Document No: IRG/WP/367 of 1976.
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ItemInterim report on the use of borate rods for the in-situ treatment of joinery(1980)In the U.K. in recent years, it has been recognised that there is a major need for in-situ treatment of joinery at risk from or showing the early signs of decay. Several techniques have been developed to provide such a treatment, one of which is based on the insertion of anhydrous borate glass rods. The tests in hand are long term and this report is confined to the mycological isolation data from Western Hemlock doors and as such is an interim report of current research.