Edge-sealing, which involves treating the edges of wood products, improves water resistance. This study investigated the feasibility of edge-sealed cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels to reduce capillary water uptake, thereby resisting mould formation. The water and vapour permeabilities of ten characteristically different single-layer sealant coating systems were systematically determined. Multi-modal assessment leveraged by computed tomography (CT) scanning methodology was used to enhance detection of material characteristics beyond the standard coating permeability assessment. Moisture content was observed to change during the specimens’ absorption and desorption depending on the sealant system applied. The results revealed different characteristics of coatings during the water absorption and desorption stages. Findings from this study were used to develop recommendations regarding the water resistance of coating systems, curing time, susceptibility to mould formation, and industrial applicability. Results suggest that edge-sealed CLT could minimise the risk of mould formation, which can occur at worksites with minimal weather protection. The method developed in this study provides a basis to evaluate new coating systems and determine which use case is the best for a particular coating type. This study also incorporates insights from industry to identify future research orientations, which may pave the way for new designs and assessment techniques.

This research presents the findings of a study conducted by Luleå University of Technology (LTU) and Lund University (LTH) on the effect of edge treatment on the end grain of cross-laminated timber (CLT) elements. The objective of the study was to identify whether edge treatment influences the moisture performance and mould risk of CLT. The investigation was conducted through controlled laboratory studies, utilising standardised procedures. Specifically, the end grain of the CLT specimens was exposed to moisture by placing them in contact with a free water surface for 96 hours. Following this exposure, the specimens were dried under controlled conditions. X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning was used to estimate the moisture content of the specimens and provide detailed spatial information about the moisture distribution within the wood. To further evaluate the effectiveness of edge treatment, the experimental moisture content assessments were compared to values by WUFI simulations. Additionally, annual data for the simulations were conducted using climate data from three different locations: Lund, Stockholm, and Borlänge. These simulations assessed the theoretical impact of edge treatment on mould risk under different climatic conditions. Results revealed that edge treatment has potential to reduce moisture content and mitigate mould risk in CLT elements. Experimentally assessed moisture content values were consistently lower in edge-treated specimens compared to untreated specimens. The calculations and simulations supported these findings, showing a distinct reduction in moisture accumulation and mould risk in edge-treated CLT elements. This study provides insights into the effect of edge treatment on the moisture performance and mould risk in CLT elements. The findings suggest that implementing appropriate edge treatment techniques can enhance the durability of CLT structures, particularly for worksites in regions where climatic conditions fluctuate over the course of construction. Further research and testing are warranted to explore additional factors influencing the effectiveness of edge treatment in CLT applications.

The project aimed to study capillary water and moisture absorption through diffusion in spruce boards across fiber direction when exposed to liquid water for 168 h, as well as the drying after that. The study was driven by the necessity of fulfilling the HusAMA YSC.122 rule that states that the surface MC of the wood must not be above 18 % when it is built in and above 16 % if surface treatment will be done. CT scanning was used to study changing MC levels in 2.25 mm layers from the wood surface as average values for each layer. The layers are named after the deepest section of the layer i.e. layer 4.5 is between 2.25 mm and 4.5 mm.

Water uptake: Results of the studies show that liquid water can penetrate down to 4.5 mm (MC >30%), even though in most cases it does not penetrate beyond 2.25 mm (surface layer). Local pockets or higher MC may nevertheless occur. None of the specimens shows liquid water penetration beyond the surface layer within the first 72 h of liquid water exposure. Neither density nor board side exposed (pith‐side or sapwood‐side) have an influence in the rate of liquid water/moisture absorption. Regarding the 18% limit established by HusAMA YSC.122, it can be reached within the first 24 hours of exposure, but its penetration is limited to around 6.75 mm of depth. Regarding the 16 % limit, a more heterogeneous behavior among specimens can be seen, with penetrations that go from 13.5 mm to 20.25 mm after 24 h of exposure.

Drying: Drying took place by samples kept in room climate in the lab with no climate control or air‐velocity regulation. The conditions were equivalent to EMC of 6 %. All layers of the wood specimens are below 18 % within 48 h when water is removed after 168 h of exposure. The 16 % limit can take from 48 to up to 140 h to be reached by all layers in the atmospheric conditions of the lab, which at the moment of the experiment were extremely dry. This factor must be taken into account when interpreting results of this experiment not only during drying, but also during water uptake. 

Projektet som helhet har bidragit till att steg har tagits mot målet att uppnå en snabbare och mer energ­ieffektiv torkningsprocess som är mer självstyrande och automatiserad med bättre och jämnare torkningskvalitet, vilket samman­taget minskar torkkostnaderna.

Projektet har behandlat ett antal delstudier kopplat till industriell virkestorkning. I projektet har studier utförts i såväl i tomograf (CT) i labskala som i industriella fullskaleförsök.  I samråd med den industriella arbetsgrupp, som förutom utförare från LTU och RISE har ingått i projektet, beslöts vid det uppstartsmöte som hölls i november 2018 att prioritera ett antal delstudier att ingå i projektet. Efterhand har mindre arbetsgrupper med deltagare från industrin knutits till de olika delstudierna beroende på företagens specifika intresseområden.  De delstudier som ingått i projektet är följande:

1) Uppvärmningsfasen vid torkning av granbräder. Inledande studier i CT med uppföljning i industriell fullskala.

2) Optimering av reverseringsintervall i kammare. Uppföljning av torkkvalitet i justerverksdata som feedback till torkprocessen. Studie i industriell fullskala.

3) Tid I diffusionsfas efter effektras vid kammartorkning av granbräder. Uppföljning av torkkvalitet i justerverksdata som feedback till torkprocessen. Studie i industriell fullskala med uppföljning i labskala i CT.

4) CT-studier av konditioneringssteget efter värmebehandling enligt ThermoWood processen. 

5) CT-studier av fuktdynamik vid oscillerande torkningsklimat.

6) Analys av CT-data vid konditionering av virke. Beräkning av fuktgradient från två  tidigare projekt.

Separata arbetsrapporter från delstudier 1,2,4.5 och 6 finns som bilagor till denna samman­fattande projektrapport. 

Weathering of wood is a complex natural phenomenon that is influenced by factors both in macro and micro-scale. The degradation by weathering constitutes of complex physical-chemical changes influenced by environmental factors such as moisture, sunlight, temperature, chemical compounds, wind, and biological organisms and their related agents. The aim of our study was the evaluation of MIR and NIR spectroscopic technique for characterisation of wood treated by commercial coatings contained different biocidal treatments after weathering in subarctic conditions. Tangential and radial surfaces of the Scots pine and Norway spruce were treated with coatings containing various biocides. Treatment was in the form of fairly transparent wood oil (T), while the two others were coatings that had more of a non-transparent character (H and P). Treatedspecimens and control were placed in various directions on racks outdoor for natural weathering. The measurement of the NIR spectra of specimens that were not exposed, after weathering and dried after weathering, was done by the point-based microNIR portable sensor. Multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) showed that data from types of exposure contributed to less compared to surface treatments in the 3D principal component analysis model (PCA). Grouping pattern around treatments H and P could be obtained as the two individual groups more or less fully separated. From the treatment T and non-treated specimens, no individual grouping behaviour could be observed, however, more intense exposed seemed to be clustered in a different way than mildly exposed ones. A more extensive weather exposure gave also a more degraded surface for T-treated specimens. The NIR portable spectrometer may be used for assessment of the extent of weathering, but the treatment P followed by treatment H had minimal changes. Coefficients Plot in the PLSDA model for different types of exposure for those treatments showed the influence of the NIRwavelengths in classes related to exposure type. The changes caused by weathering phenomenon was evaluated by using multivariate methods in which resulting multivariate model parameters for prediction of the changes were determined. Analysis of the chemical structure of coatings after weathering analysed by mid-infrared spectroscopy gave support to the lower stability of T-treatmentduring weathering.

Industrial drying of sawn timber is a process driven by a difference in moisture content (MC) between the core and the surface as moisture moves from the wet inner region towards the drier surface. After drying, the timber surface is always drier than its core, and stresses have developed within the wood volume. If the timber is to be further processed, these stresses and the moisture gradient need to be reduced to avoid unwanted distortion, i.e. the timber needs to be conditioned. Conditioning is usually accomplished by exposing the timber to a hot and humid climate after the drying regime. The conditioning regime is essential for timber quality, and it is energy and time consuming; therefore of interest for optimisation. This research was a case study where for the first time the MC during conditioning was studied in an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. The aim was to test a previously developed algorithm and investigate the influence of MC and heartwood-sapwood proportion on the effectivity of the moisture equalisation in 30 mm thick Scots pine boards. The MC was estimated from CT data acquired during the drying and conditioning of the boards in a lab-scale kiln adapted to a medical CT scanner. Results show that the algorithm can provide relevant data of internal MC distribution of sawn timber at the pixel level. Furthermore, for the drying schedules studied, the conditioning at low MC (8%) does not need to be longer than 3 h, while higher MC (18%) requires a longer conditioning.

The increased concern regarding mould on wood-based building materials has raised a demand for sustainable biocidal treatments to protect early contamination during the construction stage of timber buildings. By providing surface protection for all type of wood-based construction elements already at the construction site will reduce the mould-associated risk for not only the construction elements but also for the indoor climate and dwellers at the use-stage of the building. The purpose was to test the protective effect of commercial water-based treatments containing different biocides on single mould fungi growth in pure culture.

Small specimens of Scots pine sapwood and heartwood, and Norway spruce were treated with four treatments, and a fungal test performed in 90 mm Petri plates. Two samples (treated and untreated control) placed on the plate with a distance between each other, and between, a fungal inoculum placed. Five pure cultures of fungi species used in the study: Aureobasidium sp., Trichoderma sp., Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp. The specimens exposed at the temperature of 24°C and relative humidity of 90%.

The treatments contained biocides, i.e.: treatment 1: tetramethylol acetylenediurea and iodopropynyl butyl carbamate (IPBC), treatment 2: mixture of several biocides (IPBC, benzisothiazolinone (BIT), methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and 5-chloro-2-methyl-1,2-thiazol-3-one (CMIT)/MIT mixture), treatment 3: IPBC; and treatment 4: mixture of propiconazole and IPBC.

The fungal growth observed in the untreated samples after four days of incubation, the specimens with treatment 4 attacked after eight days, when treatment 1 and 3 had free from fungal mycelia inhibition zone after 22 days of incubation. The moisture content after the test was similar for treated samples in plates with Aureobasidium sp., Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., but was significantly higher for Trichoderma sp. The type of wood did not influence fungal growth in comparison to the type of treatment.

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a construction material for high-rise timber buildings has increased in the recent years especially in Europe and North America; a trend that is expected to continue. The CLT-elements will often be finished with an impermeable layer, whether it is walls, floors and, especially, roof. In Sweden, often no weather protection is used during the construction of the building, allowing the wood to be exposed to liquid water and relaying on later atmospheric conditions to dry the timber prior to finishing. The Swedish building regulations require a maximum surface moisture content (MC) of 18% before assembly of the elements and a maximum surface MC of 16% before the wood is covered. This could drive to high levels of MC within the CLT while the surface is already dry, which is a highly possible scenario in the case of high buildings where sun and wind create good conditions for a fast surface drying. At the same time, the regulation requires control of MC to be made with an electrical pin-type MC-meter, which is problematic because its reliability lays in part on the device reaching a certain penetration into the wood. The measurement of surface MC could thus be erroneous and the risk for mould development would be high even if the regulations are strictly followed. If a CLT with a too high moisture level are covered with an impermeable surface layer, the moisture is trapped within the CLT and may cause microbiological degradation that could be problematic to correct later on.An update in the regulation requirements is recommended, but such update must be based on a proper understanding of how moisture can be distributed in CLT and other wood-based building material during outdoor construction.

This project aims to establish amethod to study (1) the effect of liquid-water-exposure time on the MC distribution of Spruce timber boards, but that could potentially be used in other wood-based building materials as well, and (2) the drying process under emulated outdoor conditions. The focus is set on those elements that are laid horizontally or with a very low inclination, such as floors and roofs. Sections of methacrylate are glued to the internal side of 43 x 200 mm planed spruce timber, allowing the wood to be exposed to standing water under a period of several days. CT images of different cross sections are taken periodically so that the evolution of MC profile can be monitored. The hypothesis is that the suction of liquid water will not be large and that it can dry quickly once the exposure to liquid water ends, but also that a MC gradient will develop beneath the surface which, under drying, may create regions of high MC that may be unnoticed by measuring with pin-type MC-meters.

Research Highlights: In this study, the Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) compounds were applied in order to study mould-fungi growth on dried Scots pine sapwood. Background and Objectives: The transition to the use of more sustainable wood-material may be possible by applying GRAS compounds that can control and prevent contamination by primary colonising mould fungi. Materials and Methods: Kiln-dried sawn timber was treated with three different GRAS compounds, and different fungal inoculation methods applied in order to investigate differences in the development of fungal communities. Results: Substances based on potassium silicate significantly reduced fungal growth and mould contamination on the studied wood surfaces. By combining wood-surface treatments with GRAS compounds, fungal-area size as predictors and mould grade as response, a partial least squares (PLS) model that makes it possible to predict mould grade on wood surfaces was developed. The PLS model is a key component in the development of a smart grading-systems equipped by e.g. high-speed digital cameras for the early detection of fungal attack on wood surfaces in different applications. However, the measurements based on chemical characterisation should be the next step to take in order significantly to enhance the model and increase the range of robust applications. In the current study, a multivariate model describing the influence of each fungal-covering area on mould grade was presented for the first time.