The durability of acetylated beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) against wood-destroying basidiomycetes

Abstract

The overall aim of this study was to investigate the durability of acetylated beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) against wood-destroying basidiomycetes. The secondary objective was to test whether the specimen size affects the mass loss and durability assessment of wood-material under test. The durability test was based on the pre-standard prEN 113-3. Six materials (acetylated beech LVL, untreated beech LVL, beech solid wood, pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.), larch (Larix decidua Mill.) 3-layer slab, larch solid wood) were tested using three specimen geometry designs (50 × 25 × 15 mm3 as well as 50 × 50 × 19 mm3 with and without sealed edges) against Coniophora puteana, Rhodonia placenta, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Trametes versicolor, and Pleurotus ostreatus. The durability assessment was made using the arithmetic mean and median percentage mass loss (ML), the relative ML (x-values), and the decay susceptibility index (DSI). It was found that mass loss was affected by the test fungus, the material, and the specimen size and design, with the latter being the most essential factor in this study. In addition, the assessment parameter had a significant effect on the durability classification. Furthermore, small differences in ML resulted in different durability classes (DC) in some cases, whereas large differences in ML did not. However, acetylated beech LVL was always considerably durable (DC 1) against all tested fungi independent of the specimen design and durability assessment method.

11th Hardwood Conference Proceedings

“…The material was subjected to perforated stainless-steel panels over saturated, aqueous over-saturated salt solutions (Broudy, 1933;Emmerich et al, 2020;Greenspan, 1977;Kurkowiak et al, 2021;Papadopoulos and Hill, 2003) in one sealed plastic box per solution. Specimens were not leached as in other studies (Kurkowiak et al, 2021), as it is known that acetylated wood has minimal mass loss during leaching (Slabohm et al, 2023a). After storing, was the mass determined (±0,001g).…”

“…The acetylation process has been industrialized, known as ACCOYA ® for solid wood and TRICOYA ® for wood fibers. Currently acetylated veneer based products are under development (Joeressen et al, 2022;Slabohm et al, 2023bSlabohm et al, , 2023aSlabohm et al, , 2022Wang et al, 2021;. Basically, wood hydroxyl groups (-OH) esterify with acetic anhydride (C4H6O3) to acetylated wood (wood-C2H3O2) and acetic acid (C2H4O2) as by-product .…”

Bonding performance and surface characterization of cold-bonded acetylated beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) laminated veneer lumber

“…Its easy-to-impregnate sapwood sections 1 make it appealing for wood modification, and its reasonably high mechanical properties compared to other European wood species means that it can be considered for wood construction. However, its dimensional stability in contact with moisture and its natural durability against biodegradation are limited 1 – 3 . Therefore, beech should not be exposed outdoors without additional protection, especially not in load-bearing structures.…”