Examination of the influence of heat treatment on the resistance of spruce timber to wood decaying fungi
Baechle, F. | Niemz, P.(ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland). Institut fuer Baustoffe, Holzphysik) | Heeb, M.
Spruce wood that was heat treated in rape oil (laboratory scale) and in an autoclave with a nitrogen atmosphere (industrial scale), respectively, was tested according to EN 113 for its resistance to basidiomycetes (4 brown and 1 white rot). In addition, resistance to blue-stain fungi was tested according to EN 152 and pH-values were measured in an outdoor ageing process. Influenced by the thermal treatment a clear decrease of mass loss induced by brown rot can be seen. There is an obvious influence of the kind of fungi and the level of treatment. Inoculated with Trametes versicolor (simultaneous white rot) a higher mass loss can be seen in the heat-treated specimens than in the untreated specimens. The big differences in the results between the fungi show that the type of fungi plays a role in the degree of influence. It would therefore seem that tests using only one fungus are insufficient. Similar results were achieved by testing previously weathered samples. The tendencies are not always similar. Blue-stain was occasionally detected near the surface of heat-treated wood. The pH-value of wood treated in an autoclave is clearly lower than that of untreated wood. The colour of the heat-treated wood is not UV stable. However, the colour achieved by the oil-heat-treatment is more stable than that achieved by a treatment in an autoclave.
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